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Republicans for Hillary?; Earthquake Rocks Italy; Trump Attacks Clinton. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 24, 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]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we continue right along. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.

And we begin with what just might be Donald Trump's most effective line of attack against Hillary Clinton. He is accusing her of blurring the line between the Department of State and the Clinton Foundation. Here he was speaking about it just a short while ago in Tampa, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She sold favors and access in exchange for cash. She sold them. She sold favors. She sold access.

And wait until you see when it is revealed all of those people -- now it looks like it is 50 percent of the people that saw her had to make contributions to the Clinton Foundation. Wait until you see ultimately what she did for all of those people. Wait until you see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Where exactly is Trump getting his information? It's coming from the media, specifically an Associated Press report.

Within this report, it claims more than half of the private citizens who Hillary Clinton met with during her tenure as secretary of state were donors to the Clinton Foundation. The Clinton campaign firing back saying -- quote -- "This story relies on utterly flawed data. It cherry-picked a limited subset of Secretary Clinton's schedule to give a distorted portrayal of how often she crossed paths with individuals connected to charitable donations to the Clinton Foundation."

Jeff Zeleny, let's begin with you here, CNN's senior Washington correspondent.

Listen, we have heard about how Trump talks about the foundation as a way for the Clintons to make money. He says -- his phrase is always pay to play. But is there any evidence they actually profited from any of this?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No, there isn't any evidence that they actually profited. The Clinton campaign will point out, and rightly so, that they were not taking salaries from the foundation, that they were not receiving any money personally the foundation.

And Donald Trump is wrong when he says that people who met with Secretary Clinton were required to give money. It was actually in the reverse. The AP report after analyzing all of her calendars from part of her time as secretary of state found that the people -- the non- government employees she was meeting with had already contributed.

And the State Department last night tried to clarify a little bit or put in some perspective on this. It said, look, a lot of people who would give to the foundation are humanitarians, are sort of civic leaders, leaders, and they would have business before the secretary of state.

But, Brooke, that does not erase the fact that this appearance of a conflict of interests, this appearance of blurred lines here between the foundation and the State Department, it certainly exists. It has existed. I talked to several Democrats today who are actually frustrated by this.

The Clinton Foundation has long been -- yes, it does good work. Yes, it has helped fight malaria, give clean drinking water, give AIDS vaccines across Africa, but it also has blurred some lines here. Now this is injected squarely into the political campaign, and it's giving Donald Trump sort of a platter to play with, that he's already been calling on the foundation to close down and things.

It's given him more ammunition. Everything he is not saying is not correct, but there is no question these lines have been blurred.

BALDWIN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you.

Let's talk about it.

Alice Stewart is with us, a CNN political commentator and former communications director for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign and now a Trump supporter. Guy Cecil is a Clinton supporter. He's the co-chair and chief strategist of Priorities USA, which is a pro-Clinton super PAC. And Mark Preston is with us, CNN politics executive editor.

Welcome to all of you.

Guy, let me just get right to it, and even just to quote Jeff Zeleny, who we heard from, talking about how even Democrats are frustrated. Yes, the Clinton Foundation has done extraordinary things for people around the world. But at the end of the day, do you think that Hillary Clinton and her response to all of this has been robust enough?

GUY CECIL, PRIORITIES USA ACTION: Yes. And let me just say I'm not frustrated by their response. I'm frustrated by the coverage of the attack.

Do people really think that Elie Wiesel was trading favors in order to meet with the secretary of state or that it was inappropriate for her to meet with a Nobel Prize winner in economics or Melinda Gates?

The answer to that is no. And I think the focus of this on appearance, instead of the facts in this particular case, 11,500,000 people saved that would have otherwise died from HIV/AIDS. Jeff laid it out. Clean drinking water. Thousands of farmers in West Africa. Work all around the United States.

Whenever we reveal the facts, not the appearance, but the facts that are associated with this, we find three things. Number one, the foundation has and continues to do good work in the United States and around the world. Number two, there is no evidence, and it did not happen. There were no trading favors for access.

[15:05:02]

And, number three, Donald Trump gave money to the Clinton Foundation. Mitt Romney appeared at the Clinton Global Initiative. Countless Republicans, including the Republican campaign manager for Donald Trump, have admitted that the foundation does good work.

So, I have no frustration with anybody except for the way this has been covered in a one-sided manner.

BALDWIN: So, Alice, to Guy's point, we had Kellyanne Conway on last night, yes, admitting, yes, Mr. Trump gave 1$100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. With everything Guy just outlined, why is Trump, why is he jumping on this?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, certainly because there is once again appearance of impropriety here and we have known for quite some time.

I have been in Arkansas for 20 years and they have a history of ethical shortcuts throughout the Clinton -- throughout their lifetime. And, look, we can all agree, there is no disputing the fact that the Clinton Foundation does phenomenal work.

But when we have evidence coming out of the Associated Press, of all news outlet, which is a straight down the middle news outlet, not a right-wing conspiracy that they love to cast off as starting a lot of these stories, but the Associated Press showing that, as we have said, more than half of the people outside of government that she met with did contribute to the Clinton Foundation, to the tune of $156 million over the years.

And it did open the doors. It does create the appearance of what seems to be a pay-for-play operation. And the best way to clear this up, as Donald Trump has called, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Tom Cotton, several Republicans, let's appoint a special prosecutor, an outside independent prosecutor to come and take a look at this and see if we can actually find the e-mails that were missing that can connect the dots and let's put this to rest.

If there is no there there, then let's appoint a special prosecutor to take a look at it.

BALDWIN: OK.

Mark Preston, let me just cut through this and go straight to you, because you hear both sides perfectly sort of outlined. Right? My question to you is, at the end of the day, this seems to me it is a perception problem and this has been something that has dogged Hillary Clinton. We have all seen her numbers on trustworthiness and honesty.

My question to you is if I'm channeling the voters in this country, is the thought -- is this a window in how Hillary Clinton would govern depending on who you believe?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Let me take a step back. I'm not sure it is necessarily a window, but it does go to the idea a lot of people find frustrating with the Clintons, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, is the old adage do as I say, not as I do, right, the idea that we can play by different rules than what are supposed to govern the rest of society, so to speak.

That doesn't take anything away from what the Clinton Foundation has done for people all around the world, including here in the United States. But it does bring up this question of, is there a special set of rules for the Clintons, do they try to follow a special set of rules that others cannot do?

I would say this. Strategically, I would say that this is probably one of the best weeks for the Trump campaign in the sense that they, by and large, have been able to stay on message and have continued to hammer home this idea. It has stayed in the news. Donald Trump was supposed to give a big speech on immigration. They canceled it. Smart move.

BALDWIN: That's right. Look at what we're talking about. Look what we may even be talking about tomorrow.

So, Guy, I know Mark Preston says the criticism has been that the Clintons have a special set of rules. I know you will tell me that's absolutely false. But how do you -- the easy question is, well, why not just shut it down? Then we won't talk about it.

CECIL: Well, actually, there is an easy answer to the first charge, which is, actually, they follow the exact same rules. That's why the first President Bush's foundation continued to raise money while his son was president of the United States.

Did Democrats call for an inquiry? Was there a special prosecutor? Was there a congressional investigation? No. So, in fact, the new set of rules is trying to be applied to Hillary Clinton. And in fact the Clinton Foundation has laid out a methodical plan to close down many of the activities of the foundation to move them to allied organizations who are going to continue to do the good work around the country and around the world.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: But why not just do it today, Guy? CECIL: Well, because there are millions of lives at stake. There are

thousands of projects around the world. And it is not as simple as shutting things down. There are programs that they need to shift to other organizations, funding that they need to provide to those organizations.

And I think it is completely acceptable that they would take two to three months to slowly make sure that those programs are being handled in the appropriate way. This is a non-story. I think the most important thing that you keep hearing from the other guests is appearance. Appearance.

What we don't hear are facts, because the facts show, over and over again, that the Clinton Foundation did good work, that there was no conflict of interests.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I don't think anyone is denying that. But when you think of the vote -- if you think of -- you were just to walk down the street, Guy, and you would ask someone, what does the Clinton Foundation do, I would bet my bottom dollar that they don't totally know. What they know is what they're reading and what Trump is jumping on, rightfully or wrongfully, that it is about appearance and they think for a second, hmm, is it shady? Should I vote for him?

[15:10:05]

CECIL: Sure.

Well, the reason they don't know is because the Associated Press is focused on her meeting with Elie Wiesel and Melinda Gates, and not focused on the work they have been doing for the past 10 years.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Actually, Alice, let me come to you, even though he's not talk being immigration, I want to talk immigration because he made news last night, he being Mr. Trump, on immigration news at a town hall. He said that he would soften his stance on immigration.

We are just about to Labor Day and we're talking about or he's talking about softening stances. First of all, how might he do that, and, secondly, isn't it a little late?

STEWART: I think he's been very clear, crystal-clear his position on immigration throughout the entire primary process, in terms of building a wall, Mexico will pay for it, and deporting illegal immigrants. That's what got him through the primary and it's what got him elected without a doubt. He had tremendous support for that.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: But what if he changes and what about that support?

STEWART: Well, that's the question. This is a difficult road they're going to have.

We knew once he got the nomination, he was going to have to appeal to a broader electorate, not just the hard-core conservative that liked what he had to say. He has to appeal to a broader electorate, but he has to do it also in a way, especially on this issue -- the cornerstone of his campaign, immigration, which he carried the water for, and he will tell you that repeatedly, he has to do it in a way where he can continue to maintain that base, but appeal to the broader electorate.

It is going to be a difficult row to hoe, but it's one that if it is successful, he will be able to broaden the electorate and appeal to people that he must have, absolutely must have, in order to be successful in the general election. That is going to be a difficult battle, but we all knew he was going to have to broaden his appeal at this stage of the game.

BALDWIN: Mark, what do you think? Do you think if he softens his stance, he talked so much about the 11 million and get them out and building a wall, which he still talks about, you think that's going to alienate his ardent supporters and change the game?

PRESTON: Let me give three different answers that all come back to the same conclusion. Right?

The first is, it hasn't hurt him so far that he has been a flip- flopper on issues. OK? It certainly hasn't hurt him with his supporters. At this late stage of the game, there is nowhere else for those hard-line anti-immigration folks to go to. So they're going to stay with him.

It does broaden his appeal, however, to Republicans who are still concerned about his candidacy as well as those independents who have yet to make up their mind who they are to choose.

But to Alice's point, let me just button it up when she says, of course he has to broaden his appeal and they knew he was going to have to do that. Donald Trump has become everything he's attacked this whole campaign, and that's a politician. He says one thing one day, and the next day, in order to get support, he broadens it out. That's the definition, by definition, of a politician.

BALDWIN: OK.

Guy Cecil, you get the last word on this.

CECIL: Well, I think the fact that Donald Trump would be willing to disregard and insult and demean millions of Hispanics in order to win the Republican nomination, only to have to figure out a way to appeal to them afterwards shows an inherent disrespect for that community.

And I take Donald Trump at his word. He is in favor of building a wall, he's in favor of making Mexico pay for it, and he's in favor of a deportation force that will rip apart Latino families around the country.

And for that reason, he should never be president of the United States.

BALDWIN: Guy Cecil, Alice Stewart, Mark Preston, thank you all.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Coming up, we are watching this breaking story here out of Kabul, Afghanistan. Reports of explosions and gunfire at this American University. You will hear from a freelance reporter who has contacts with people still trapped inside. We have an update for you on the ongoing situation there.

Also, out of Italy, have you seen these pictures today? Look at this, aftershocks still rippling through these communities after this devastating earthquake hit multiple towns, people using their own hands to try to scramble to just breathe. We will take you there live coming up.

And ahead, is Hillary Clinton's campaign tapping into an unexpected source for campaign funds? Are former Mitt Romney donors writing checks because they're with her? We will explore that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:18]

BALDWIN: Let's get to our breaking story here out of Afghanistan, where the State Department is still working to account for any Americans who still may be caught up in this ongoing attack at a university in Kabul.

We're watching these reports of explosions and gunfire still at the American University in Afghanistan. At least five people were injured. A police operation is set to launch shortly, searching the campus for any suspected attackers. But keep in mind this is the very same university where just a couple of weeks ago, there were two lecturers who were kidnapped at gunpoint near campus at their car, one of whom was an American.

I talked last hour to a freelance journalist who explained to me how this attack is really symbolic regarding the future of Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILAL SARWARY, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: Unfortunately, this has been very personal for many of us. I have had my cousins, my relatives and my friends who have been stuck inside classrooms when the attack happened.

As we speak, Afghan special forces from the crisis response unit, an elite special forces unit specifically trained to fight attacks like this, is on the ground. We understand close to 140 students have managed to escape for their lives, some of them jumping over walls. Others have just gone into people's homes in West Kabul.

One of my family members who was there told me that the attackers had maps, they were drinking Red Bulls, clearly aimed at staying for as long as they could, and that some of them were tossing hand grenades.

Now, it is important to mention that ever since Siraj Haqqani, the leader of the Pakistan-based militant group, has taken over as the number two for the Taliban leadership, running the war for the Taliban, we have had very lethal and deadly attacks in Kabul, whether that's huge truck bombs or an attack like this.

[15:20:15]

But what is very clear, that this is an attack on Afghanistan's future. The American University of Afghanistan is a symbol of American and Afghan friendship. This is also a sign of the Americans telling the Afghans that we are here to help you, we are here to train your future generations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Our thanks to that journalist there in Kabul. And that was Bob Baer also with me last hour.

Meantime, hope, hope remains that there are still survivors trapped in the rubble after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Italy. At least 120 people are confirmed dead. You see the rescue crews here and volunteers as well using every tool they can to try to find and pull people from these flattened buildings.

One woman explained she woke up in the early morning hours to her bed shaking and to screams next door. In the town of Amatrice, one of the hardest-hit areas, this clock tower frozen at the exact moment the earthquake hit, 3:36 a.m.

Let's go to Atika Shubert. She is in Saletta. This is near the epicenter.

Atika, I know it is just about 9:30 your time. Are rescue efforts still under way? Do they believe people could still be trapped?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, search-and-rescue is still under way to an extent, although many here believe that is now going to become a recovery operation.

This is a very small plant I'm at. It's only a mile away from Amatrice, but it's been completely devastated. You can see some of the wreckage behind me here. This is a house that is just sort of pancaked here. And beyond it, on the hill there, that was where the center of this tiny village was. There are 10 homes there.

Only two now remain standing. When we arrived, there were search-and- rescue teams there hoping to pull survivors out. Unfortunately, both of the people they reached had died. We do understand that another person is still believed to be there. He is also believed to have died.

And the family is actually waiting there camped out. They don't want to find a camp. They don't want to sleep. They just want to stay there until they find out what happened to their relatives -- Brooke. BALDWIN: And I'm sure there are so many families in similar

situations. Have you felt, Atika, any aftershocks? Are there worries about landslides, given the mountainous region?

SHUBERT: Absolutely. In fact, many of these houses, they are sort of built into the hillside here. What we see is not only that they collapsed, but that the rubble kind of slid down the hill as well.

We did feel a very significant aftershock shortly after we arrived. And there is a house. It is too dark to see at the moment, but it is almost split in two. And as an aftershock hit, it just sort of crumbled a little bit more.

So I think there are quite a few buildings here that are in further danger of collapsing. They sort of fenced off the area to make sure that nobody gets any closer to these buildings. So it is still a very volatile situation and, as you can imagine, really traumatic for survivors who already felt this at 3:00 in the morning and now continue to feel these aftershocks.

BALDWIN: I can't imagine, actually. Atika Shubert, we will stay in close contact. Thank you so much in Italy for us.

Meantime, hours from now, Apple CEO Tim Cook will host a high-dollar fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton just a day after she hopped into a photo booth with Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake. Besides these celebrity parties, though, the Clinton campaign is making a huge fund- raising push for former Mitt Romney donors, as in Republicans. Will they bite? We will discuss coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:52]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And you're watching CNN.

The CEO of Apple will host a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton tonight in Silicon Valley. And each person invited to attend is being asked to contribute as much as $50,000 each.

The Clinton campaign has also raised more than $3 million at a fund- raiser hosted by these two. Can you see the photo from this little booth they obviously sat in? Justin Timberlake and his wife, Jessica Biel.

But behind the scenes, Hillary Clinton and her campaign are reportedly also trying to woo Mitt Romney donors to her team as well.

Let's talk to Ryan Williams. He's a former spokesman for Governor Romney, Governors both Romney and Sununu. And also John Stubbs, he is the founder of R4C16, a group of Republicans supporting Clinton. He was also the former senior adviser to George W. Bush during his administration.

So, gentlemen, wonderful having both of you on. And, Ryan, let me just ask you first. I understand you saw Romney, what, just two weeks ago at a fund-raiser for -- in New Hampshire for Kelly Ayotte. And we know that he's been quite outspoken on his thoughts on Trump.

He would never write Hillary Clinton a check, would he?

RYAN WILLIAMS, REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT: No, I don't think so.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: I think Governor Romney's made it very clear he does not like Hillary Clinton, does not think that she'd be a good president, doesn't think Trump would be either.

I think the governor's focus now is on helping --