Return to Transcripts main page

LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Obama and Sanders Meeting; Trump Huddles with Fundraisers; Stanford Rapist Blames Party Culture. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired June 9, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:13] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the White House right now, but also at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City because there are two pivotal meetings taking place at those two locations right now. On your left, the gathering at the Oval Office between President Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders, walking the colonnade. The one-on-one potentially winding down after this walk just 45 minutes ago. Aides telling CNN the president is nudging Senator Sanders towards accepting Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party's nominee. But he will not directly ask him to exit the race.

And then meantime in New York City, the presumptive GOP nominee has brought together a large number of the RNC's top campaign donors. The money men. Trump is looking to firm up his fundraising operation. The meeting marking the first time that this group has all been gathered in one place, but certainly not the first time conversations about Donald Trump and raising money for an election has been raised. And there is a lot to debate about that.

All of the Democratic super delegates that Bernie Sanders would like to flip, the guy he's meeting with right now in Washington has to be pretty much tops on his list. But, President Obama has the opposite goal, to gently flip Bernie Sanders instead into the Hillary Clinton camp now that Secretary Clinton has a lock on the nomination and Senator Sanders' progressive revolution has reached at best what could be called a cross roads. Senator Sanders' fourth conversation with the president in just the past month comes hours after the president reflected on the bruising inherent in primary season and the healing that he is sure is about to follow. The president spoke to Jimmy Fallon, in fact, for a "Tonight Show" segment that will air this evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My hope is, is that over the next couple of weeks, we're able to pull things together. And - and what happens during primaries, you get a little ouchy. Everybody does. You know, when Hillary and I ran in 2008, you know, your staff and supporters, they're popping off and somebody's reading, did you see what that -

JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Yes. Yes.

OBAMA: And then - and they start spinning stuff up.

FALLON: Su re.

OBAMA: So there's a natural process of everybody recognizing that this is not about any individual, but this is about the country and the direction we're going to take it. And I think - I think we're going to have a great convention and we'll do well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: May have been taped Wednesday, but it's going to air tight. And CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins me now with more on the visit of Secretary Sanders. I'm always fascinated to watch the colonnade walk. Is there anything in the tea leaves that we can get from that? But, effectively, this is not really a surprise what's happening, but take me inside.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. I think - I think it was interesting that the president used the word ouchy there. You have to wonder how ouchy this meeting is going to be. But - but you used the word gently nudging and I think that's really operative. I think it's telling in that the White House won't even publically say at this point that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive nominee. I mean even after that speech she gave. The White House emphasizes and emphasizes again respect. Respect for the process. Respect for Bernie Sanders and especially all of those supporters who might have a really hard time letting go but ultimately who the White House wants to support Hillary Clinton.

So, yes, we were really interested to see that video, too, walking through the colonnade. And you think, you know, this is now the place that Bernie Sanders will not inhabit. That has to feel very, you know, difficult for him to walk through with the president, all eyes of the world really on him right now and on this meeting. But you could see how relaxed it seemed to be, and cordial. They were laughing together and now that meeting is underway, should last probably another 20 minutes or so, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: So then it's not the first meeting, high level Democratic meeting. Senator Standers is busy in Washington today.

KOSINSKI: Yes, and it's interesting now to start to hear from some of the top Democrats. I mean he's going to meet with Senator Harry Reid later. But we've also heard today from Nancy Pelosi and aids close to them saying that they too - they want to hear Sanders out. They don't want to strong arm him into stepping out before his decision making process is over. Everybody kind of knows where this is going. Everybody knows what everybody is thinking, but nobody wants to push him and be unduly rough in this process because unity is what they're after.

[12:05:03] So the president, Reid, they want to talk to Sanders about what he wants moving forward, as well. What does he want in the Senate, for example? What does he want to see as the Democratic Party comes together? They want to involve him and engage him in the process, even though he now won't be the nominee, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Michelle Kosinski following this story for us live at the White House. Thank you for that.

I want to just go north from Michelle all the way up to New York City. It's where Jeremy Diamond from CNN is staking out a very different kind of meeting in Manhattan. Donald Trump meeting with to GOP fundraising officials from all 50 states.

I am fascinated by this story for a million and one reasons, but also because the story, up until today, and I don't know if it's going to change, has been so many of these donors are so hands off, so worried about this particular controversial candidate that they've been keeping the purse strings tight and considering the down ballot races instead. If the money is going to fly, it's going to go towards the Senate races, which are contested, and not necessarily top ticket candidate. Are you hearing differently?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's certainly the thinking of some donors. You know, they're thinking, you know, if they can't support Donald Trump, they'll at least, you know, put some money towards the down ballot races that Republicans are up against in some tight battleground states.

But, you know, Donald Trump is bringing along some of the top ticket GOP donors in the field. You know, he is rallying some of the top - you know, Woody Johnson, for example, who was a big Jeb Bush donor's finance chairman and some of the other top tier GOP donors here. We actually just saw several GOP donors and Donald Trump's chief operating officer, Eli Miller (ph), walk into the building here at the Four Seasons. Governor Chris Christie, who has also been a key figure as far as building that bridge between Donald Trump and the more establishment donor wing of the Republican Party. So this is going to be kind of one of those meetings of the minds where Donald Trump is going to try and ease some of the concerns that these donors and the fundraising team have and also kind of forge a path ahead, kind of figure out what the plan is to be able to raise the millions and millions, hundreds of millions of dollars needed to compete in a general election.

Donald Trump just yesterday in an interview said that he, you know, sees no reason to raise over a billion dollars, which is kind of the watermark that was established in 2012 and what Hillary Clinton is expected to raise. So, certainly Donald Trump trying to form a plan here, trying to ease some nerves that donors may have. But we'll have to see what happens actually inside of this meeting.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Jeremy Diamond live on the sidewalk waiting for those to exit so he can ask some questions. Thank you for that. We'll tap into you throughout the rest of the day to find out what you can find out. And I just want to remind our viewers at this time that - that unease

that Jeremy's alluding to, much of it has come from the kinds of comments that Donald Trump has made along the campaign trail and most recently about the judge, the federal judge in his Trump University case, alluding to the fact that his Mexican heritage - he's a U.S. citizen - but that his Mexican heritage may in fact be a problem for him to continue sitting on the bench. There's been no motion for recusal, let's be clear, from the Trump camp, ever. No lawyer has ever asked that judge to recuse himself. There's been nothing filed. But, publically, these statements have been made and it has made a lot of people in the Republican Party very nervous.

Not the least of which the head, you know, of the House that - the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, said that those comments are just racist, so textbook racism. And then this morning the speaker of the House had something different to say about that as well. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER (voice-over): Do I think that these kinds of antics are distracting and - and give us a campaign that we cannot be proud of? Yes. I've spoken very clearly about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So there you go. These are fresh on the minds of those who may be walking into these meetings with Donald Trump. And, look, there's also that comment Donald Trump has made himself about $1 billion may not be necessary. He may be just relying on me, the media, to do a lot of that bidding for him, to give a lot of that coverage for him. You don't have to spend a whole lot of money on political ads when you've got the CNN putting your news conferences on the air. So that will be some kind of dynamic that those fundraisers are going to have to - or those donors are going to have to assess. And wouldn't you want to be the fly on the wall.

All right, just ahead, we're going to continue to do politics, but we also have this remarkable story. We have some new documents from the prosecutor in the Stanford rape case, and they reveal that the rapist actually lied to the judge in that case. What he didn't want the judge to know about his past, what the judge found out and what the prosecutor said about it is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:13:19] BANFIELD: Right now we're waiting for President Obama and Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders to emerge from a nearly hour long meeting inside the White House, discussing Senator Sanders' future and his next steps within the race that he is currently embroiled in with Hillary Clinton, even though she is now the presumptive nominee according to the math today. We're going to keep an eye on that story, bring you updates just the moment that Senator Sanders emerges from the White House.

But in the meantime, there is this story. It is not going away. New documents just into CNN from the prosecutor in the Stanford rape case and the documents, court documents, obtained by CNN, reveal that the convicted rapist, Brock Turner, lied. He lied about his past history with drugs and alcohol. And he didn't just lie somewhere. He lied in the court to the judge, because in his letter to the judge, Aaron Persky, the judge, Brock Turner paints himself as a young man from a small town in Ohio, inexperienced when it came to partying.

But now we are learning from court records that he conveniently left a couple of things out, like a past drug use history. I want you to take a look at this portion from his statement about the time he was at Stanford. "I was an inexperienced drinker and party goer, so I just accepted these things that they showed me as normal. Living more than 2,000 miles from home, i looked to guys on my swim team as family and tried to replicate their values in how they approached college life."

Well, then there was the prosecutor and a sentencing memo that the prosecutor brought forth with text - text messages from Turner's own telephone. And those text messages depict him indeed using alcohol and drugs, not only during his time at Stanford, but before that too, during his high school days in Ohio. And if you want to know exactly what it said, here you go. "There were many references to smoking, buying and sharing 'weed' from as early as April 1, 2014, when the defendant was in Ohio." The memo also shows, quote, "text messages also referenced doing acid or trying to find a 'hook up' to purchase acid both in high school and while at Stanford.'

[12:15:43] Also new today we've learned that Turner had a prior arrest and was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol.

Joining me now with more on this is Dan Simon.

Dan, the details are not escaping people. People want to know so much about this case they are combing through documents. The Internet is on fire with these kinds of revelations. And what effect is that having actually out on the street?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, first of all, let me explain where I am. We are in front of the city jail where Brock Turner is serving that short six month jail term. It's basically your standard jail. He'll be allowed two visitors a week.

But, you know, we talked about that letter. You just mentioned it. You know, what's clear for reading it is that he does not admit that a sexual assault took place. And that is one of the reasons why there is so much anger, especially on the Stanford campus where I spent a lot of time yesterday talking to students. They are outraged by this six month term. They feel that it is a miscarriage of justice. They are glad to see that the victim's statement is getting the national attention that it has, but they're really upset about this sentence. Here's a sampling of what we heard. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I was really disgusted because there's a unanimous jury, there are witnesses and we are so proud as a campus that we were able to like actually witness an event and stop it and yet there wasn't really enough justice. And we think he got an easier sentence because he is a white male of a privileged background.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a human being who was violated in the most disgusting possible way. He has shown no remorse, has admitted to no crime and is now paying a considerably shorter sentence than he should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, it is a bit ironic that this judge, Aaron Persky, who is in the middle of this firestorm, basically just secured a brand new six-year term. That's because on the ballot on Tuesday he was uncontested. But there is this recall effort underway. Approximately 70,000 signatures will be needed from Santa Clara County residents to get his name on the ballot in November. In terms of whether or not they'll get it, that really remains to be seen.

As of this point, Ashleigh, we haven't heard many defenders, but we did speak to a guy named Gary Goodman. He is a seasoned public defender in the area. He says he knows judge Persky well. He says this was a fair sentence and says that the recall is really unfounded. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY GOODMAN, PALO ALTO, CA, PUBLIC DEFENDER: I think it's absurd. I think it's absolutely absurd. The man is an excellent jurist. He does things the proper and the correct way. And I hope it doesn't have a quelling effect on other judges around the country that, you know, that are voted for that, you know, if you make a wrong decision, people are going to come after you and try to make you change your decision, when those people have no idea of what happened at that trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: We should point out that the judge got a recommendation from the probation department that recommended this sentence and he essentially went along with it. We should also point out that Brock Turner will also have to be a registered sex offender for life. So there is severe punishment on that front.

But, Ashleigh, it's clear that this issue is not going away. We know that on Stanford they're having their commencement ceremony this weekend. That graduating seniors, they feel so outraged about this that they are planning some sort of demonstration during the commencement. So that's going to take place on Sunday, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And I'll guarantee you that there will be cameras that will capture some of that. Dan Simon for us live. Thank you. Appreciate it.

As we've seen, there are two contradictory sides to Brock Turner's story. And the prosecutor in the case keyed in on that. In fact, writing in her sentencing memo that Turner, quote, "was not truthful with the probation department or this court about his experience with drinking and partying."

And joining me now is former New York State Supreme Court Justice Leslie Crocker Snyder.

Madame Justice, this is critical. I was always under the impression, for decades of covering court, that if one lies to the court, read judge, when you lie to the court, you're lying to the judge. Judges don't like it.

[12:20:10] LESLIE CROCKER SNYDER, FORMER NEW YORK SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: Well, we don't like it. We're outraged. But this entire sentence is outrageous. Obviously, it didn't affect the judge in this case at all, which is very hard to believe. But the only conclusion I can reach about the sentence and the judge is that he just doesn't get rape as a crime of violence and desecration of the victim, otherwise he would not have sentenced the way he did.

BANFIELD: And he was aware - this petition from the prosecutor was made in open court. He was made aware that Brock Turner's words on paper did not match the evidence that the prosecutor found on his phone. Pictures of him doing bong hits. Pictures that showed somebody who was well seasoned in the party culture at the age of 19.

SNYDER: Well, it's pretty outrageous, but then, as I said, no one could really comprehend the sentence to begin with. And it appeared that the judge had already made up his mind despite everything he heard. He got a ton of letters, but, frankly, most of the time we don't really pay that much attention to the letters.

BANFIELD: I wanted to - I wanted to ask you about that because there were some - upwards of 40 of these character letters that were written. One of the letter has gotten a lot of traction, from his father.

SNYDER: Right.

BANFIELD: Let's see, a former federal prosecutor was on that list, wrote a letter and described him as respectful and fragile, a friend, sort of went after the rape victim and said these, you know, these people aren't rapists. They don't jump out of bushes. There was a lot that outraged our viewers about that. And I wanted to know, what happens when you get those on your desk?

SNYDER: Well, you read all the letters and you read them carefully, but you understand that a defendant only has people who like him and who are going to say good things. You also hope that the lawyer has screened the letters. So, for example, how did this father's letter, which is so - it's just outrageous also, and got everybody's back up. I mean who cares if his son liked to eat ribeye steak? The lawyer should have screened it out and -

BANFIELD: It's shocking that - that that did made it in.

SNYDER: Yes.

BANFIELD: That many of the elements within those letters made it in.

SNYDER: But then, you know, perhaps the boy's - the defendant's behavior is not as surprising when you hear from the parents what their attitude is.

BANFIELD: So what is so fascinating about this case - and if anybody takes anything away from it, it is the issue of consent. And when a human being is not able to give consent, so when you are inebriated, male or female, you cannot legally give consent for sexual relations.

SNYDER: Right.

BANFIELD: Brock Turner argued in this case and lost, the jury found unanimously he lost this argument, he wasn't sure when she became unconscious in their - you know, in their - in their - whatever you want to call what happened between them that night. But I want to show you some of the things that we've discovered from court documents in terms of what those first responders had to do when they found her the way she was, the same way the witnesses found her.

They did a shake and shout method. They did a physical pain stimulant on her to try to get her to regain consciousness. And then they had to place an IV in her. With all of those kinds of methods to get that survivor to respond, she was still unconscious. She was taken to the hospital unconscious. She was strapped to a gurney unconscious. And it was upwards of three to four hours before she regained consciousness.

The reason I bring up that fact is because Brock Turner said at some point I don't know where she became unconscious. And I just don't understand how it could escape a judge -

SNYDER: It's not -

BANFIELD: That you don't go from perfectly consentable behavior to that condition without stumbling, falling, tripping, throwing up, et cetera.

SNYDER: It's a ridiculous argument. It's a ridiculous argument that the defendant's entire case might have been somewhat absurd in terms of what to believe. Well, you know what I find fascinating also? We all know that college campus rape and sexual assault has become a huge issue because it's been so badly handled. This is one of the few cases I've seen where there's been bystander intervention, which is a big point we've been focusing on.

BANFIELD: Witnesses.

SNYDER: We need bystander -

BANFIELD: You - rare (ph).

SNYDER: Most people don't want to get involved. This is what has to happen, bystanders have to intervene.

BANFIELD: So let me ask you - I mean, and what drives me crazy about this is that the judge seemed to be OK with the notion that the survivor may never get the answer that she wants from Brock Turner, which is, OK, I knew you were unconscious. But the judge seemed to be OK with it, even though the jury found it as fact. The recall effort. Look, close to a million signatures on change.org

does not recall a judge. What does recall a judge in this jurisdiction, 600 signatures can be forwarded and a write-in candidate can be on the ballot in November. That could do it. But what else could do it is somewhere around 80,000, it's a nebulous figure, but it's somewhere around 80,000 can recall a judge. And I know that that's chilling for judges like you to hear, but if you're elected and you behave in a manner in office that your electorate does not like, shouldn't you be allowed to be unelected?

SNYDER: Well, when you get a case this outrageous, your natural instinct is to say the judge should be recalled. But one of the most important principles of our system of justice, which is still the best system in the world, even if it's not perfect, is the independence of the judiciary. Do you want judges who are afraid to make independent decisions because people out there, they - they -

[12:25:14] BANFIELD: But we want them to reflect our current sensitivities, don't we?

SNYDER: No. You want them to reflect all the factors in a particular case. That's what we do on sentencing. Everything good and bad about the defendant, everything about the crime. What's startling here is the vicious overwhelming nature of the crime. That that didn't override a lot of other things. But every judge should be independent and not be afraid to make a decision that he or she feels is right.

BANFIELD: Madame Justice, thank you for taking -

SNYDER: This was a terrible decision, though.

BANFIELD: And I think there are a lot of people who agree with you. Thank you so much for your time and for your wisdom and for bringing it to us today. I really appreciate that.

SNYDER: Good to see you. Good to see you.

BANFIELD: You know, this has caused a conversation to become electrified. And that's a good thing. Make no mistake. There's no controversy in talking about this, talking about it especially if you're a parent. Today there are high school students who are planning to stand all along 5th Avenue in New York City just so that they can read the letter out loud from the survivor and stand in solidarity with her as well. This coming after New York's mayor, Bill de Blasio, hosted a live reading of that letter. Mayor de Blasio was joined by his wife and celebrities and government leaders. And I want you to take a peek at what it looked like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIRLANE MCCRAY, MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO'S WIFE: We are here today to read the statement of the woman who was raped by Brock Turner, because we are her allies, because everyone needs to hear her story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had dried blood and bandages on the backs of my hands and elbows. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My underwear was missing and I felt too empty to

continue to speak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The night after it happened he said he didn't know my name. He said he wouldn't be able to identify my face in a lineup.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lastly, you said, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin a life. A life, one life, yours. You forgot about mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Joining us now is CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

I said it before, I'm going to say it again, this is a learning moment, a teaching moment for everyone who has seen this story and who is talking about this story to educate about the key issues of this story and stop this story from repeating.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, that's so right. And I've been talking to parents about what their plans are for their sons and for their daughters with this letter. I have especially been talking to parents of daughters. You know, the letter is this incredible gift in a way from this woman. It is a silver lining, if you can think of it that way, of the horrific experience that she's had. And it's a great opportunity to show your daughters, you know, you're young and you feel invincible and you're at a party and you think that you're among friends and that may be true but it may also be true that something like this could happen to you.

This - you know, it's very difficult to teach teenagers that something bad can happen to them, but this letter, if anything can, this letter would be it. It is possibly the most powerful piece of writing ever about rape. And having this available to everyone right there on the Internet can be this really useful, teachable moment for parents.

BANFIELD: Yes, and I'll go one step further, teachable moment for parents to share with their daughters, but maybe even more so to read to their sons because if their sons believe that because a girl is amorous with them it means consent, not if she's drunk, period. Not if she's drunk. The law will not be on your side. Prepare for it now. Don't put your keys in an ignition if you're drunk and do not go forward with a young woman if she's drunk. The law is not on your side. Repeat it in your families. Repeat it to your sons. Tell your daughters. This is true. This is happening. This is a crisis. You can stop it.

Just ahead, we are expecting to hear from Senator Bernie Sanders at any moment after a significant meeting you can only say at the White House with President Obama. We're going to bring it to you live just the moment he steps out.

And a boy who spent more than eight years in prison, I did say a boy, for a crime he didn't commit, and he was just 14 at the time. Davontae Sanford took the blame for the murders of four people in Detroit, but yesterday, finally, he was freed and this is what it looked like. Look at that smile. He's going to talk to us next about how this happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)