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CNN NEWSROOM

Fallout from Bill Clinton's Meeting with Attorney General; Trump Escalates War With GOP Over Trade; U.S. Lawmaker Names Suspected Planner of Istanbul Attack. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 1, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


[10:00:00] JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Guy in the audience who didn't t react to Star's performance, who remained stone- faced.

(On camera): Was it weird to sing with Lincoln sitting over there in the chair?

(LAUGHTER)

STAR SWAIN, SINGER: He would have gotten up and applauded. That would have been weird.

MOOS (voice-over): But how can he just sit there like a statue listening to this?

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, incredible. Really does give you chills.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

Well, good Friday morning to you. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

And we are following a developing story out of Washington. Attorney General Loretta Lynch trying to contain the fallout over a meeting with Bill Clinton earlier this week. Just one hour from now Lynch is expected to announce publicly that she will accept the guidance of career prosecutors and the FBI about whether there should be any charges over Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server when she was secretary of state.

Now we're told that that plan had been in the works for months now but this public announcement is being bumped up in an attempt to downplay concern over Lynch's meeting with Bill Clinton.

The two held a meeting an impromptu meeting on a Phoenix tarmac on Monday with both Republicans and Democrats saying the meeting was in poor form.

Earlier this morning Trump pounced, calling the meeting evidence of a rigged system, and that it was, quote, "a total secret," and that nobody was to know about it but he was caught by a local reporter.

CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is following the story for us -- Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pam. Well, that meeting between Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch really setting off a fierce political firestorm this week, that impromptu 30-minute meeting on the tarmac. You know, the announcement today by the Department of Justice that Loretta Lynch intends to follow and accept the recommendations of the DOJ prosecutors and the FBI really underscoring this, really shows the awareness on their part that they need to do something to tamp down the questions and alleviate all the concern over this meeting given the fact the Loretta Lynch is, in her role, overseeing the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private e- mail serve.

Sources telling CNN that this is not atypical. This is something that Loretta Lynch typically does, accepting the recommendations of the prosecutors, but the fact that they need to go ahead and emphasize this in a more formal way certainly speaks to the moment that they find themselves in right now.

Now it's important to note that she's not recusing herself from this, that she will still have a role in this case and it will be interesting to see if this in any way tamps down a lot of the controversy and criticism that this has stirred most notably from Hillary Clinton's opponent Donald Trump, who's been laying into this meeting in recent days basically calling it unethical, saying that the -- this shows that the political system is rigged. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, when I first heard that yesterday afternoon, I actually thought they were joking. I thought the people that told me was -- you know, I said no way. There's just no way that's going to happen. And it happened. And I am just -- I'm flabbergasted by it. I think it's amazing. I've never seen anything like that before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And Loretta Lynch will speak on this later this morning and just now about an hour at the Aspen Ideas Festival, she will comment publicly about this. And sources also telling CNN that now that she's decided to make this move and announce this in such a public way, of course because of all the fallout of this week, of course also because of the high-profile nature of this case, how it is so twisted into this political arena as well -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.

And joining me now to discuss all of this, Larry -- Sabato, rather, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, John Avlon, editor-in-chief of the "Daily Beast," and Laura Coates, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. Larry, first to you. How big of an unforced error was this Clinton-

Lynch meeting?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, obviously, Pam, it's turned into a big error. This is the age of conspiracy theories fed by the Internet and you have to say this showed terrible judgment by both Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch. What were they thinking? And the answer is they weren't thinking.

I don't know whose judgment was worse here, but it's happened and I'll tell you what she's doing is the right thing to do, though, Pam, because there is -- there is not a 99 percent chance, there is a 100 percent chance that the report from the FBI, whatever is sent to the Justice Department, if it's not released by the Justice Department, it will be leaked in full. There are loads of people in the FBI who are doing a good job, I'm sure they're going to be fair.

[10:05:06] But the FBI isn't filled with people who love the Clintons necessarily. It will be leaked. So people can rest assured they will see the real report, the full report one way or the other.

BROWN: I will say, though, I cover the FBI as a justice correspondent and everyone has been extremely tightlipped about this investigation.

Laura, I just want to get the context perspective for you before I get John's reaction. Lynch is saying she will accept the e-mail decision from career prosecutors and the FBI director, but what is the normal protocol for the attorney general?

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The normal protocol is that to defer to the judgment of the people who are the line attorneys, who are not going to be swayed by the political machines. And the reason it's so important for her to have said this and to have done this is because remember, Eric Holder, her predecessor, was often accused of being very political and being very swayed by the machine.

In fact when the career prosecutors recommended that governor -- I mean, General Petraeus had a felony offense attached to him, he reduced it to a misdemeanor. This is a call to action on her part, to say, look, I am not going to be swayed by certain aspects, and I am going to adhere to the protocol that I trust and rely on the people who are expected to be neutral arbitrators of the justice system, and that is the career -- the career actual attorneys.

BROWN: All right. But, John, Trump is saying that this shows the system is rigged. Is he right? Is the damage already done?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think he's right that this is evidence of this rigged system. It is evidence of, however, incredibly bad judgment. Politics is perception and when Bill Clinton bounds upon, you know, the AG's plain at a time of an ongoing investigation, whatever innocent intentions may, and I stress the word may, have been going through his head, the perception is terrible.

And therefore it leaves to this public declaration by the attorney general that she will not pull an Eric Holder in a Petraeus type situation. She will accept the FBI director and the investigators' decisions on this. That itself could have fascinating implications in this election because we're in uncharted waters in so many way in this election, but one of which is that the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party still has an ongoing investigation against her. It's the right thing to do but it raises the stakes. And that's an awful lot of potential collateral damage for a chance meeting at the Phoenix airport.

BROWN: Right. And this is certainly not something that the Clinton camp wants, Larry. How much does this feed into the notion that she's untrustworthy?

SABATO: Well, it sure doesn't help.

(LAUGHTER)

SABATO: Again I doubt seriously she knew that Bill Clinton, her husband, was jumping on the plane with Loretta Lynch, but you know, you don't need the two facts anymore to draw all kinds of lines and circles and squares on the Internet. And this is all over everywhere with people speculating about things they know nothing of. It will continue. This is another later of problem for Clinton that she doesn't need, as John is saying, at a critical time.

I don't recall anything like this in American history where you have a potential investigation at this critical moment when somebody's about to be nominated for president.

BROWN: It's pretty remarkable. And this whole episode, of course, just brings more attention that she is under investigation.

All right. Larry Sabato, John Avlon, Laura Coates, do appreciate it. Stick around. We're going to bring you back. We have more to discuss.

On the GOP side, Donald Trump still throwing jabs at the GOP over trade. And he's now gone a step further saying it feels like the Democrats aren't his only opponent this election cycle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, it was a rough primary and they got beat up, and -- but they went after me, too. And you know, we beat them up and now they don't want to endorse. And you know, it's almost in some ways like I'm running against two parties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And that may have been the most subdued thing we have heard from the presumptive GOP nominee yesterday.

CNN's Jason Carroll was following that story and joins me now with more.

Good morning to you, Jason. JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you,

Pamela. You know, Donald Trump taking a bit of heat for a couple of moments at his rally yesterday in New Hampshire. One of the moments points to this whole issue that Trump still seems to be having with the Muslim community. As you know, critics say that he has not been tolerant of Muslims and that he's attracting people who are intolerant to his campaign.

I want you to listen to a response to a woman who raised a question about TSA agents wearing head scarves or hijabs and how Trump handled that answer to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why aren't we putting our retiree -- our military retirees on that border or in TSA. Get rid of all these hibby-jabbies they wear at TSA. I've seen them myself.

TRUMP: I understand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need the veterans back in there to take it. They fought for this country and defended it. They'll still do it.

TRUMP: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

TRUMP: You know, and we are looking at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:10:03] CARROLL: Well, critics say Trump did not say enough to defend a person's religious right to wear the scarf. He also made an awkward joke at the expense of Mexico while discussing NAFTA which he says takes manufacturing jobs away from the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Their leaders are so much smarter, so much sharper. And it's incredible. In fact that could be a Mexican plane up there, they're getting ready to attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, Trump did point out that the questions at his rally were not vetted. He also continued to take aim at those within the GOP who have not gotten behind him. This is clearly a point that still has not been settled.

What is soon to be settled Trump's running mate. Sources tell CNN that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are being vetted and we have just learned a short time ago that Trump could announce his vice presidential pick before the GOP convention to try and drum up excitement as if there wasn't already enough excitement later this month -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

We want to bring back our panel, John Avlon of the "Daily Beast" and Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia.

Trump -- John, Trump is renewing his attacks on the Chamber of Commerce as we heard, joking about Mexican warplanes as Jason touched on. This sounds like the old Trump. Why doesn't the campaign have just one version of the candidate?

AVLON: Well, you know, because the whole idea that there's going to be a new Trump is the tribe of hope over experience. The guy is 70 years old, he's not going to change. He is campaigning the way he's campaigning and he believe that his style has led him to pull off a major coup when it comes to winning a Republican nomination against a pretty crowded field. So you're going to keep seeing and hearing these things. It's part of who he is and there is baggage, there is divisiveness.

You know, he didn't do what John McCain did when someone in the audience in the 2008 election questioned the president's religion. You know, and corrected him intensely in that one comment.

The comment about Mexican planes attacking is just bizarre, but frankly just an offhand comment, not very presidential. And I think that's the point. There's a presidential gap that's registered in the hot-head comments and everything else that this candidate and his party and the people running on his ticket are going to have to deal with.

BROWN: And Larry, there's always this speculation about VP picks, possible picks. Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich are rumored to be on the list. They both have a fair amount of political baggage, though. Do you think that the campaign should try to balance off the ticket in a different way?

SABATO: One reason why I think there's a short list of potential candidates for VP for Donald Trump is because most of the candidates who might have staked or have segment of the electorate don't want to be considered and wouldn't run with Trump. It's pretty clear that Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich are two of the few who would jump in front of an on-rushing train to get that position. So I'm sure that's one reason why they're on that short list.

Let's also remember, though, while Donald Trump is unconventional, this part of the race is conventional. That is campaigns foiled all kinds of names and put out false information, and there are other people being considered that we don't know. Campaigns often like to pull surprises and particularly Trump because he's got a week in that convention, Pam, that's going to be most interesting because of who's not showing up to the Republican convention.

In a sense, he has to cover that story with a bigger story and he hopes it will be his VP candidate and he hopes it will be in a positive way rather than a negative way.

BROWN: So you think that's why he's saying he's going to announce the VP pick before the convention?

SABATO: Well, it's the only thing that make s any sense. If you're going to do it, do it right before the convention.

BROWN: All right, John?

AVLON: Well, let me -- you know, traditionally this is announced just before the convention. They're talking about announcing it even earlier I think in an attempt to kind of turn the page and officially say it's a new start of a new campaign.

What's fascinating is what we've been hearing from Trump folks is that, A, it's a list down to four people, and B, that in some ways Trump is trying to find his Joe Biden, somebody who can balance out his lack of political experience and be a liaison to Congress. And that really does narrow the field. Chris Christie, a fascinating choice, makes in a personal sense a relatively early endorsee but doesn't have congressional experience. Newt Gingrich, of course, while that may be overhyped as a suggestion, he said he's not being vetted, former speaker of the House.

But it's interesting to see that Trump at least is saying or seems to recognize that he needs to balance out his weaknesses when it comes to governing and that really shows some degree of self-awareness.

BROWN: All right. Larry Sabato, John Avlon, thank you as always. We do appreciate it.

And still ahead on this Friday, terror inside the Istanbul airport. Armed suicide bombers hell bent to kill. And now new word on who set them loose with their military style mission.

[10:15:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A U.S. congressman who is privy to global intelligence report says a former ISIS lieutenant is behind the military-like siege on the Istanbul airport. This as new details stream in on the slain terrorists and their suicide mission.

Let's get the very latest from CNN's Alexandra Field who is right outside the airport in Istanbul -- Alexandria.

ALEXANDRIA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, good morning, Pamela. Akhmed Chatayev, that's the name of the top ISIS militant that one U.S. lawmaker is saying was the leader of this attack, the director of this attack, who guided the three foot soldiers in this bombing on the airport here at Ataturk. We know that these men spent time in Syria, in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. That according to a source who's been informing CNN. He says that the men crossed into Istanbul a month ago, renting a flat here. That flat has been at the center of the investigation in the last few days since this deadly coordinated attack.

It's the place where investigators found a passport belonging to one of the men. It's also the place where they've been showing surveillance video images of the attackers to neighbors and residents, trying to learn more information about the men who pulled off this attack here at the airport armed with AK47 and also suicide vests.

[10:20:05] New surveillance video that has now come to light reportedly, according to the news agency Haberturk, shows the bombers arriving at the airport by taxi. 43 people were killed in the deadly attack. It has triggered a series of ongoing counterterrorism operations that's netted in the arrest of 22 people, 13 of them -- rather the detainment of 22 people. 13 of them found in Istanbul, nine of them in the coastal city of Izmir. All of them being questioned now in connection with these attacks -- Pamela.

BROWN: Alexandra Field, thank you so much.

And I want to dive in a little bit deeper into these new terror findings with CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel, there are strong evidence that these attackers came from the Syrian ISIS stronghold Raqqa. ISIS has yet to claim responsibility. Why is that?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Pamela, the main reason is that ISIS feels it doesn't need to claim responsibility. What they're thinking is we have made this attack, it's clear to those who observed these kinds of things that it is us, and therefore we just need to put the Turks on notice in essence privately that they are a big target of ISIS and that we are -- we ISIS are after them.

BROWN: Because it's interesting, in past attacks, ISIS has claimed responsibility. But it's a difference dynamic because this is in Turkey. We have learned that one of the attackers came from Russia. How significant is that?