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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump to Disclose Fundraising for Veterans; Secret Service Protects Sanders from Animal Rights Activists; Iraqi Forces Surround Falluja; Russia Denies Bombing Near Syrian Hospital; California Governor Brown Endorses Hillary Clinton. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 31, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:01] CUOMO: In order to keep their memory alive. It was a good reminder for Memorial Day that just went by that we remember those who lost their lives.

CAMEROTA: What a beautiful effort. All right. Time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hi. Have a great day. NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, after months of delay, Donald Trump will tell the nation exactly how much he's raised for veterans. And just one hour later, internal Trump University documents unsealed. What will they reveal?

Plus, pardon the interruption.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step right there. Right there.

COSTELLO: Secret Service agents jump in after animal rights activists rush the stage at a Sanders event.

And a change in plans. Hillary Clinton launching a last-minute campaign blitz in California one week before the primary.

Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Donald Trump facing big questions this morning and promising complete answers later today. He's run a wildly successful campaign based on getting things done. But can he deliver on a more immediate challenge, proving true his own claim that he raised more than $6 million for military veterans in a single night? Trump's campaign has been dogged by media questions, how much money

was raised, where did it go? In just a couple of hours Trump promises a full accounting of the fundraiser.

Also today new developments in the fraud lawsuits against Trump University. Documents that show how the defunct school did business, what the students got after paying as much as $35,000. Those documents unsealed later this morning.

But let's begin with the veterans fundraiser and CNN's Drew Griffin.

What do we expect to find out later today?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we expect to find out exactly where $6 million raised on that night that we all remember, the night he ditched the FOX News debate and said he raised $6 million. We're going to find out where it's going.

We already know from our earlier reporting that 27 different veterans groups did, in fact, get $3 million. We've been asking the Trump campaign for the rest of the money and also if he was going to put in any money. Last week he did. He wrote a $1 million check to a pretty good group that raises money for fallen Marines' kids. But we want to see where the rest of the money is.

And you know, Trump says he's getting unfair treatment in all this. Part of that, I think, Carol, is true but this is also a creation of his own making. He made such a huge deal out of this. He had to have known as a presidential candidate we'd be scrutinizing every dime he says he raised.

COSTELLO: Well --

GRIFFIN: So hopefully we'll see where it went.

COSTELLO: He's blaming the media for asking unfair questions. Are they unfair questions?

GRIFFIN: I don't think they're unfair questions but the question is, would we have chosen to go after other fundraiser to see exactly if they raised the same amount of money that they said the night they raised the money? I don't think the answer is true. All right? I don't think we would. However, this guy is running for president. And he got huge media play out of the fact that what many considered to be a stunt that he was going to do this and ditch the debate.

So he had to know there would be scrutiny. And it's easy math as I've asked the Trump campaign. It's money in and money out. The fact of the matter is last week over the phone Trump told me he had a little trouble getting all the money in. Some people pledged didn't remember they pledge he said. He had to call and remind them. Now hopefully today we'll get a final accounting. In the end, six million bucks going to charity for vets, that's very positive.

COSTELLO: That is very positive.

Drew Griffin, thanks so much.

So with me now to discuss all of this, Katrina Pierson. She is the national spokeswoman for the Trump campaign.

Thanks, Katrina, for being here this morning.

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: Great to be here. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Will Mr. Trump say he's raised $6 million for veterans later this morning?

PIERSON: Sure. Look, at 11:00 there's going to be a press conference and Mr. Trump will go into details about this fundraiser that, by the way, was put together the within 24 hours and we said from the beginning, these types of fundraisers can take up to six weeks to six months to bring in the money and get it distributed equivocally. And there were 22 charities released that have been vetted that this money was going to be disbursed to but the media is not reporting several other charities that had applied for these funds, that had to go to the vetting process to be distributed. And that's what Mr. Trump is going to clear up today.

COSTELLO: OK. And that's good because here's the thing and here's the controversy. And I just want to review for our viewers. Mr. Trump said back in January he raised $6 million. And then his campaign came out and said, well, $5 million was raised and that Mr. Trump would contribute an additional $1 million from his personal fortune. Then in May according to the "Washington Post" Corey Lewandowski -- part of Trump campaign -- said $4.5 million was raised and then Mr. Trump said -- told CNN that was actually an incorrect number.

[09:05:07] A few days ago Mr. Trump said he raised almost $6 million. So can you understand why the media and perhaps some out there are kind of confused?

PIERSON: No, not necessarily. Mainly because this was an event that was put together within 24 hours and initially this was pledged money. So of course they had to put work into bringing the money in to get that -- get those numbers distributed. But I will tell you that the media should be talking about is the Clinton Foundation money because there are a ton of questionable numbers with regard to the Clinton Foundation, where their money is coming from, where it's going, and if political favors were returned in the process.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: And I understand that --

PIERSON: And that's important to the American people.

COSTELLO: I do understand. And we will ask those questions. But this morning we're talking about Mr. Trump because he's holding a news conference later this morning --

PIERSON: Yes, but we're not -- we're not asking those questions.

COSTELLO: To reveal how much he's made.

PIERSON: We've been in this campaign for a very long time and almost every week we're talking about the spontaneous fundraiser that Donald Trump had to get money to the veterans, which he had and have been distributed but we're not hearing every single week about the tens of millions of dollars that the Clinton Foundation has been rolling through its organization. So we don't have the same kind of scrutiny.

COSTELLO: Well let me --

PIERSON: And that's the unfairness that Mr. Trump is talking about.

COSTELLO: Let me expound on why we're asking Mr. Trump about raising these funds. Mr. Trump says he's a savvy businessman with fabulous organizational skills. He's routinely handled multibillion dollar deals so why has this deal been in his own words a lot of work?

PIERSON: Because, again, it was put together within 24 hours. We told everyone this takes six weeks to three to six months to get completed. And this is where we are today. This has been a very tough situation considering Mr. Trump is also running for president. And these things aren't easy. We're not talking about a $10,000 fundraiser.

COSTELLO: But nobody says --

PIERSON: We're talking about $5 million to $6 million.

COSTELLO: We just wanted straight answers and it appears we weren't getting straight answers because his campaign didn't know the answers.

PIERSON: Well, because it's a changing number. If you're talking about the number of funds raised and the number of funds disbursed, the number of charities that have applied and received the funds already, this is a rolling process which now has been completed and Mr. Trump is going to release that information. But he's still talking about the unfairness considering how we have Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation with tens of millions of dollars in question.

This was a fundraiser for veterans Mr. Trump rolled out. This wasn't political favors for other countries. Hostile countries to the United States. This is something that is just what Mr. Trump wanted to do out of the goodness of his heart.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Absolutely and it is --

PIERSON: And he's been criticized almost daily for doing something nice.

COSTELLO: To get the money to where it was promised to go that we're asking these questions because Mr. Trump says he's a man who can get things done right now. He can make America great again right now. He can solve the ISIS problem right now. And it appears to us at least because of --

PIERSON: That's right.

COSTELLO: That's right. So it appears to us when his campaign is confused about even how much money was raised in that single night or what organizations that money would go to or if those organizations were vetted properly, like it causes you to pause and say, maybe he can't get things done right away.

PIERSON: But I think it's -- but I think it's the media really that's confused because there were 22 charities released almost immediately that the money was going to go through. What happened is other charities wanted to be a part of it. And so they said, yes. Send us your application, we'll get them vetted. These are the types of things that occur when you're talking about putting together a charity within 24 hours. This is not something that had been put in place for 25 years like Hillary Clinton.

COSTELLO: Well, it's been four months now. I know -- I get it was a spontaneous events and --

PIERSON: That's the point. That's the point.

COSTELLO: Well, then perhaps Mr. Trump should have articulated that.

PIERSON: Well, we did. We articulated that very early on.

COSTELLO: No.

PIERSON: I was even on CNN several times saying it takes up to six months to get these charities vetted and processed. And here we are ahead of schedule just like Mr. Trump always gets things done.

COSTELLO: So you're saying it's ahead of schedule now?

PIERSON: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: OK.

PIERSON: It could take up to six months.

COSTELLO: It could take up to six months from this time to get the money to these veterans organizations that have now been vetted? Is that what you're telling me?

PIERSON: No, the 22 charities that we've released which have already been reported on have received funds. What we're talking about are the other charities that have also applied that are having funds disbursed that went through the process. Within 24 hours there was up to $6 million pledged. It takes time to get that money in, to get those processed to those charities and it depends on how those charities are set up as well.

This is not something like -- there's not a PayPal transaction you can do for this type of thing. It could take up to six months and now it's done in May.

COSTELLO: All right. And it is a great thing that Donald Trump has raised millions of dollars for charities. Don't get me wrong. It's a fabulous thing.

[09:10:03] PIERSON: So let's focus on that.

COSTELLO: We're going to -- OK. We will. In the 10:00 hour of NEWSROOM, in the next hour of NEWSROOM, we're going to talk to two of the charities that are receiving money from Mr. Trump and we will focus on that.

Katrina Pierson, thanks so much for being here.

PIERSON: Great.

COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton's team is preparing to use Trump's record on veterans against him. The campaign deploying surrogates to key states to highlight Trump's past negative statements and actions on veterans, all in a bid to blunt the momentum of her likely general election opponent.

All of it as Clinton also deals with the momentum of Bernie Sanders ahead of next week's critical California primary. Clinton revamping her schedule and heading west as part of a multi-day push to get out of the vote.

Sanders facing a frightening scene in Oakland as he barnstormed that state. Secret Service agents springing into action when animal rights protesters tried to rush the stage as Sanders addressed a crowd in Oakland.

Our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns has more on all of this. Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. There's a lot worth watching today. The back and forth between the Clinton and Trump campaigns. On the issue of support for veterans, the Hillary Clinton campaign now starting to test methods to challenge Donald Trump's domination of what is known as earned or free media. The kind of attention a candidate gets through things like public appearances and interviews as opposed to advertising.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reporting this morning that the Clinton campaign is going after Trump on multiple fronts on veterans affairs today in an attempt to subvert the message Trump is expected to push at that highly anticipated news conference on fundraising today at Trump Tower in New York.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast today Bernie Sanders continues his push to get a big win in California after a security scare last night in Oakland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): Dramatic moments at a Bernie Sanders rally in downtown Oakland, California. Secret Service agents jumping on stage pulling the presidential candidate away from the microphone. At least four protesters leaped over barricades, yelling and attempting to rush the podium. Secret Service detail quickly apprehending the individuals.

One of the protesters appeared to be hit by a security member's baton while another was carried out of the venue by his arms and legs.

Grassroots group and animal activist direct action everywhere taking responsibility for disrupting the event. This latest skirmish on the 2016 campaign trail only one of several incidents this year causing the Secret Service to jump on stage. Commotion breaking out at a Trump rally in Ohio in March when a protester tried to rush the stage.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I was ready. I don't know if I would have done well but I would have been out there fighting, folks.

JOHNS: And in April, Trump's motorcade stopping along a highway in California after protesters blocked the hotel entrance where a GOP convention was being held, forcing the Republican candidate to exit his vehicle and cross the freeway on foot.

Sanders uninjured and seemingly unfazed by this incident.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't get intimidated easily.

JOHNS: The senator cheering on the Golden State Warriors later in the night, continuing to barnstorm California.

SANDERS: Does this guarantee me the California primary?

JOHNS: Before June 7th delegate rich primary in the state. His attempt to rest the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Bernie Sanders got his Secret Service detail all the way back in February when the primary season was just getting started. At that time aides said privately that the candidate was reluctantly asking for and accepting protection -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Joe Johns reporting for us this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Iraqi forces try to storm the center of Fallujah and ISIS hits back with snipers, suicide bombers, and families used as human shields.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:05] COSTELLO: North Korea makes another attempt at launching a missile. According to a U.S. defense official, an intermediate missile was tested. It apparently flew for about two or three seconds before it exploded. It's not clear if the missile made it over water. This attempt by North Korea is the latest in the string of tests as the country tries to advance its weapons program.

ISIS forces in Fallujah are using snipers and suicide bombers to try to repeal Iraqi forces. Even worse, the U.N. says the militants are using civilian families as human shields. Iraqi forces have surrounded the ISIS stronghold. They're now trying to storm the center of the city to drive the militants out. But ISIS is mounting a strong counterattack.

CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is here with more.

Hi, Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

This offensive to retake Fallujah from ISIS is now in its tenth day in the battle started nasty. It's getting nastier. There was a four- hour battle to the south of Fallujah as Iraqi forces tried to enter, penetrate the defenses of the city. There is a counter attack by ISIS.

According to the Iraqi army, they were able to repulse that attack and inflict heavy casualties on ISIS. No word about casualties among Iraqi forces themselves.

But as you mentioned, the UNHCR says they believe hundreds of civilians are being held as human shields in central Fallujah. We've heard reports of summary executions of young men and boys who refuse to join the ranks of ISIS to fight off the Iraqi army.

We're also hearing from the UNHCR that around 3,700 civilians have managed to leave the city. However, also according to the U.N., 500 men and boys above the age of 12 have been separated from those families among those who are fleeing Fallujah for what's called security screening by Iraqi intelligence which is clearly very worried about the possibility that ISIS is infiltrated among those fleeing the city.

[09:20:19] Now, the situation in Fallujah itself dire, very little in the way of food, water, medicine. In fact, the U.N. is worried because of the lack of clean drinking water. There now could be a cholera outbreak in the city -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

Russia denying claims it led multiple airstrikes on the city of Idlib in Syria. The strikes destroying a civilian area, near a hospital. At least 23 people killed, including women and children. This is new video we just got in of the aftermath. It's unclear how many people were injured as rescue efforts are ongoing.

But here's an image of one survivor, a little boy who is seen crying as he was carried away from the scene. Airstrikes in Syria have escalated in an attempt to push outer terror groups there.

Fred Pleitgen is following this from our London bureau. Hi, Fred.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Yes, and specifically in this area in Idlib, it is really an escalation taking place there. It's interesting because Idlib is actually a place where you do have a large contingent of al Qaeda's wing in Syria called Jabhat al-Nusra.

And the area even though they were there, was fairly quiet for a long period of time but now it appears as though that quiet is over. Now, the Russians were saying that they would escalate their air war against Jabhat al-Nusra only a couple days ago. However, as you said, they denied being behind these air strikes but also offered no clue to actually no might have conducted these airstrikes.

Nevertheless, they were absolutely devastating. The information that we're getting there from the ground that it was between seven and ten air strikes that hit that area, including very close to that one hospital in that city. And just seeing that aftermath of course is something that's really heartbreaking to see those people scouring there through the debris there, trying to get to people, to save them out of that.

Unclear again who is behind that airstrike but 23 people killed. Seven of them, women and children according to the information that we're getting. So, it seems as though any inkling of a cease-fire in Syria seems to be falling apart as we speak, Carol.

COSTELLO: Frederik Pleitgen reporting live for us this morning -- thank you.

A bit of breaking news to pass along to you now. The governor of California, Jerry Brown, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president of the United States. I have the letter here that he posted for his constituents to read.

He said although he's deeply impressed with how Bernie Sanders has done, Hillary Clinton, he says, has convincingly made the case that she knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the Democratic agenda. We will talk about this after the break.

Also, we're going to follow up on that gorilla being shot to death in Cincinnati. Parent shaming, even death threats are at work now. Why the zoo says it would do it all over again though.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:23] COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Just a short time ago, I said the California Governor Jerry Brown has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. You know, in California, the intrigue is certainly heating up for the Democrats. Four hundred seventy-five delegates up for grabs in next Tuesday's primary. Recent poll showing Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton running neck and neck.

And now, Clinton is overhauling her schedule, scrapping an event in New Jersey on memorial day to head west and she announced a five-day swing through California starting this Thursday.

So, here to talk about this and more is Errol Louis, political anchor at New York 1 and CNN political commentator.

Welcome.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So, does Jerry Brown's endorsement help Clinton?

LOUIS: Well, it certainly doesn't hurt. It will make a much bigger difference if Jerry Brown actually mobilizes people, you know? I mean, throughout the primary season, Carol, endorsements have come with or without a little extra gas. A little extra push.

So, way become in the South Carolina primary, you know, Jim Clyburn's endorsement meant a lot because he had an organization on the ground. It remains to be seen what Jerry Brown has that he can mobilize. And it especially matters in California, not just because it's a huge state that takes up half the West Coast, but because the primaries actually decided sort of congressional district by congressional district.

So, it's not enough to be hugely popular in Berkeley or in Los Angeles. You've got to sort of spread the activity around quite a lot and it's quite an organizational feat.

COSTELLO: Well, the interesting thing about this is you would think that Governor Brown might endorse Bernie Sanders because they have similar messages, right?

LOUIS: Well, it's certainly was possible. And he makes -- he takes pain, I think, if you read between the lines, of his letter of endorsement to say that Bernie Sanders has run a great race. Bernie Sanders is a very nice guy. And that's in order to, I think, you know, sort of make clear to his liberal base that he hasn't completely abandoned all of his principals just to enforce Hillary Clinton out of practicality. That he actually respects and understands it.

Here again, he gets to the core of the argument. He makes -- he takes great pains to say that Donald Trump if elected has said that climate change is a hoax. Has said the Paris climate agreement would be scrapped if he becomes president.

He's trying to sort of scare the environmentalists who are very potent force in California into sort of making a practical decision as opposed to, say, going with Bernie Sanders who happens to be more anti-fracking than Hillary Clinton in some ways are better on the environmental issues.

Jerry Brown saying, look, it's too important. We've got to get practical. Let's go with Hillary Clinton.

COSTELLO: OK. So Hillary Clinton decided to change her schedule and go back to California to campaign. Doing this five-day swing through the state. What does it say to you?

LOUIS: What it says to me is they have probably seen numbers suggesting that they are looking at maybe a worse performance than they want. They don't want to get blown out in California.