Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Colin Powell in Leaked E-mail; Trump a "National Disgrace"; African-American Issues at Forefront of Presidential Race; Alleged Rape Victim Says Authorities Drag Feet on Campus Rape Case. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 14, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: This issue here is there's nothing in the e-mails we are seeing today that contradicts what people, Republicans in the foreign policy community, have been saying about Donald Trump for months. They don't believe he has the judgment required to lead this country in the era of terrorism and nuclear threats.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: What do you make, Mike, on the hacks themselves?

MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA COVERT OPERATIONS OFFICER: First, it's a little surprising that someone with Colin Powell's experience in government and in dealing with sensitive issues isn't more circumspect or discreet knowing that everyone in every organization is vulnerable to hacking.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You're saying he should have been aware in the back of his head?

BAKER: Anybody should understand nowadays, anything you write could end up being on CNN being talked about by us. We're really there.

(CROSSTALK)

BAKER: And so -- but the hacking itself, look, you know, I'm one of those who believes that what we're looking at -- and I suspect, like others do -- that this is probably a Russian -- persistent threat, not a state sponsored. There's probably levels of cutouts between the entity that's been engaged in this activity and that is now getting these e-mails and the Russian government. But I think the long game here is not so much they're trying to influence who wins this particular election but the long game is more of a traditional psy-ops battle where they're trying to erode trust in the Democratic process. That is a consistent effort the Russians have been engaged in for decades and decades.

BALDWIN: On that, Matthew, in Moscow, listen, again, we can not say for sure that this was Russia. But what would the advantage -- by the way, this was also not the only noteworthy high-profile hack. What would the advantage be for Russia to meddle? MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're right.

And the Kremlin categorically denies any of their official government operations, their security services, their secret services are involved in this. But we have in the past months, the past year or so seen an upsurge in the number of hacking attacks, which law enforcement officials say is not much evidence of. But there's not such circumstantial evidence. Not so much targets that are chosen for instance in that are aligned with the perceived targets in the Russian state. They never attacked the friends of Russia. They only ever attack the rivals and critics and enemies.

When it comes to the U.S. political process, your next guest is right. There are public sentiments in favor of Trump in comparison to Hillary Clinton. She's seen as an outspoken critic of Russia. She compared Putin to Hitler at one stage not so long ago over the annexation of Crimea. And there's lots of things she did when she was secretary of state that was opposed to Russia interest. She's a despised figure in this country, whereas Trump makes these positive sounds.

At the same time, Kremlin officials, they still have misgivings about Trump, and they know he's an unpredictable figure. So there is a sense in which they genuinely don't know which horse to back in that race. But there is a sense in which they would like to see in general terms the undermining of the Democratic system, of the presidential process, in Russia, and so that may be what the aim of these hacks really is.

BALDWIN: OK, and maybe his last point is significant because there's always sort of been this perceived preference of Putin and Trump versus the bad blood that's been widely discussed with Putin and Clinton but if Colin Powell speaks critically of Trump, if it were to be Russia, why would they want to publicize his feelings?

NAFTALI: The Russians are talented but they don't have a subtle understanding of our policy. It's an advantage to us. They use a hammer when they should use a scalpel. If they're behind this, it's a sign they don't understand us. This has helped Hillary Clinton and weakened Donald Trump.

BALDWIN: Final thought from you.

BAKER: That's correct. The Russian Intel apparatus has had a shotgun approach. If we target and go after in a narrow way one potential source, they're pitching hundreds of sources and saying, "What sticks against the wall?" So that is true. They still, to this day, they have a hard time playing a subtle game. But this is still important. If they keep at it, I suspect we are going to see a barrage of leaked e-mails from a variety of sources --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Which could be the October surprise.

BAKER: Exactly. Again, it's important for people to understand it's consistent with the way the Russians have operated since the Cold War. They've never felt the Cold War ended. BALDWIN: Mike Baker, Tim Naftali, pleasure. Thank you both.

BAKER: Thank you

NAFTALI: Thank you.

[14:35:09] BALDWIN: Matthew Chance, thank you very much to you as well, in Russia for us.

Up next, moments ago, Bill Clinton talking about Hillary Clinton's health including an update on her battle with pneumonia. She's been off the trail, resting up.

Also ahead, candid politics and a fiery discussion. See what happens when I talk to voters inside this Atlanta barbershop.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The barbershop, it's known for politics, it's known for candor, it's known for fiery conversation here and all kinds of perspectives. So I wanted to make sure -- I wanted to hear from all sides, so I was in Atlanta this week. I heard about Trump, I heard about Clinton, and the impact of the black vote on this year's election.

You are about to hear more of our candid conversation, six people including Michael Render, AKA Killer Mike, a rapper and activist and the owner of the barber shop; Taj Anwar Baoil, a firefighter and urban farmer; Shelley Winters, Harlem native who is voting for Donald Trump; Jamida Orange, whose father marched many miles with Martin Luther King Jr; Kalonji Changa, a local activist and leader who isn't voting on a national level, period; and Kristen White, an attorney who is all in for Hillary Clinton.

Here's the second piece of our conversation when African-American issues are at the forefront.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[14:40:37] BALDWIN: You're voting local but not for president.

KALONJI CHANGA, ACTIVIST: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: You're voting for Hillary Clinton.

KRISTEN WHITE, ATTORNEY: I'm definitely voting for Hillary Clinton.

BALDWIN: You're voting for Donald Trump:

SHELLEY WINTERS, HARLEM NATIVE & TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm voting for Donald Trump.

MICHAEL RENDER, RAPPER & ACTIVIST: I'm voting if for whoever gives me something.

WINTERS: Four times if I had to. RENDER: If I had to vote on purely ideal, whoever on that day moves the needle closer to ending unemployment in my community, helping education in my community and giving us a fair shake --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Donald Trump says he will go into these neighborhoods, he will help with the economy, he will help bring jobs.

WINTERS: He said all of that. Everything Mike just asked for.

(CROSSTALK)

JAMIDA ORANGE, ACTIVIST: No, no, he said that so that we'll look at him but he's not talking to us at all. He's talking to those white women moderates to say, hey, I'm not racist.

BALDWIN: Really?

(CROSSTALK)

ORANGE: I truly believe that. He ain't talking to us for real.

WHITE: Why would he talk to us and insult us? It's a complete insult and I don't think --

(CROSSTALK)

WINTERS: To tell you the facts.

WHITE: I don't need him to tell me the facts of my community that I live in. I don't need you to berate me about my community. If you're not going to come with solutions, I don't want to hear what you have to say.

WINTERS: I will give you solutions. First of all, go to Ponce de Leon, 6:30, you'll see a group of Mexicans looking for contract work --

RENDER: They are.

WINTERS: -- and a group of Hispanics looking for work. By 9:00, the Hispanics are all gone. The brothers are still standing there. So if you start to rail in illegal immigration, you will provide more jobs for African-American men in particular. Do not tell me these are jobs men won't do.

WHITE: So now we're sacrificing Hispanics?

WINTERS: We're not sacrificing anybody. We're talking about with the plan for black people.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITE: My plan for black people doesn't include splitting up families. (CROSSTALK)

WINTERS: I'm talking about railing in illegal immigration, helping unemployment, charter schools.

(CROSSTALK)

WINTERS: One of the most crucial aspects of educational reform are charter schools. We know they work. We may not like them. But we know there are charter schools doing yeoman work in our communities.

RENDER: Charter schools is a new hustle.

(CROSSTALK)

RENDER: Come on, man. We got puffy --

(CROSSTALK)

ORANGE: They don't work! They don't work.

WINTERS: Are the kids getting educated?

CHANGA: No.

RENDER: Everyone knows I'm not pro-charter. But I have a nephew. Charter schools gave my sister a radically different kid.

(CROSSTALK)

RENDER: I'm from Atlanta. We are indoctrinated with Dr. Martin Luther King. We are I indoctrinated from him. Jamida's father was an organizer. He taught me to organize. This was the first person to really call me leader. He was not passive in his wheel to push forward.

ORANGE: But we're fighting about Kaepernick taking the knee.

RENDER: Exactly. That's what I'm saying. You want us to be concerned with that and the fact that the black boy, he took the knee, right, he took the knee, sold you more Jerseys, and your punk ass, you should have been out there with him. It's a right cause.

I don't even care about the Hillster or the Donster. We need to know what are we going to demand, or we tell them we're not going to vote.

TAJ ANWAR BAOIL, ACTIVIST: We're so uninformed because we have such an allegiance to the Democratic Party.

(CROSSTALK)

CHANGA: The Democratic Party was the Klan's party at first. The slaves were freed by Abe Lincoln, who was a Republican. So we got this whole Democrat/Republican thing mixed up.

RENDER: We are married to the Democratic Party. We can't front. As much junk as I talk, at the end of the day, if I vote, more likely I'll vote on the Democratic side because they cut the only deals we have.

BALDWIN: But is that taken for granted?

RENDER: Yes. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITE: We have to protest.

CHANGA: Vote on the local level.

RENDER: I'm not saying we don't. But I'm saying for the first time in our life we have an opportunity to tell the Democratic Party we might stay home.

CHANGA: I think there are a lot of folks voting for the sake of voting. Your father, Dr. King and all these folks, they didn't fight for the right to vote just to cast a ballot, they fought for our self- determination.

RENDER: I want black people talking about -- voting is a blood oath. It's a blood oath. I will never not vote locally. But, but, I'm not going to let you pee in a cup and tell me it's lemonade.

(CROSSTALK)

RENDER: I refuse to not demand something in exchange for my vote. That's it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:45:47] BALDWIN: What do you think of these conversations? You saw yesterday, today. We have more for tomorrow. Send me a tweet @Brooke/CNN. I'd love to hear from you.

Next here, a female college student, a football player, and accusations of rape. She is coming forward publicly because she says authorities didn't do a darn thing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A University of North Carolina football player has turned himself in less than 24 hours after his accuser held a news conference to tell her story. CNN does not usually name alleged victims of any kind of assault but, in this case, Sophomore Delaney Robinson came out publicly and claims that linebacker, Alan Artis, sexually assaulted her seven month ago. She says she decided to break her silence because after months of waiting for authorities to press charges, she finally took matters into her own hands. Robinson walked into court, she told her story to a judge, and that judge determined there was enough evidence to move forward, and issued a warrant for Artis to be arrested.

Robinson said that from the night she was raped, the justice system has treated her like the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:49:55] DELANEY ROBINSON, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: Yes, I was drinking that night on Valentine's Day. I'm underage and I take responsibility for that. But that doesn't give anyone the right to violate me. I did not deserve to be raped. My life has changed forever while the person who assaulted me remains a student and a football player on this campus.

After I was raped, I went to the hospital and gave an account of what I could remember to the sexual assault nurse. Then I was quizzed again by a DPS investigator who asked demeaning and accusatory questions. What was I wearing, what was I drinking, how much did I drink, what did I eat that day, did I lead him on, have I hooked up with him before, do I often have one-night stands, did I even say no, what is my sexual history, how many men have I slept with? I was treated like a suspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I have Brynn Gingras standing by live in North Carolina for us. Also joining me is CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson.

And, full disclosure, UNC Chapel Hill is my alma mater. This is personal.

Brynn, to you first.

We know Artis was charged with misdemeanor sexual battery and assault on a female. You just talked to the D.A. What do they say?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I talked to the D.A., Brooke. And even just more recently, I want to bring your attention to the fact that we were just in the courthouse. He had a court appearance. He didn't have to be there. His lawyer appeared for him but that was a formality. The next court date was set for later this month and he's out on $5,000 bond. Also important to note his defense attorney snuck out a back door so we didn't get to ask him any questions about his side of the story, which is what we're waiting to hear.

As for the D.A., what you were asking, he's sort of kind of bewildered by this, he says, our investigation wasn't complete so we're acting in a way we don't know what to do next, we need to look into it. Because they had to still work through their investigation before she went ahead and had these misdemeanor charges filed.

But it's important to note that Delaney Robinson says, "I did everything that I was supposed to do." After this happened, she went to get a rape kit done. She talked to investigators, had pictures taken. She went through this and felt that the D.A.'s office was dragging its feet.

Here's what the D.A. told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JIM WOODALL, ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Is there evidence that prove this is case beyond a reasonable doubt? I think the UNC Police Department has been working in that vein. And it can take a long time in type of evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: He says that case was still open and it's unclear where they go, the D.A.'s office, from here.

BALDWIN: Joey, let me turn to you on a legal perspective. What struck me is that here she is speaking publicly in front of cameras, this is never really done.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It really isn't and good for her that she should do it. We want to point out that unlike other cases we've talked about, Brooke, there have been cases. For example, in California, we've talked about Brock Turner.

BALDWIN: Stanford University.

JACKSON: Absolutely. This is an accusation at this point.

And what's going on is they're parallel investigations. What am I referring to? The district attorney's office is investigating this. Apparently, they've been doing so since February. She feels they're dragging their feet. And she has serious concerns, which is why she went to a magistrate.

I should also point out that under North Carolina, a citizen can go forward in front of a judge, allege facts that are sufficient to show there's probable cause to believe a crime was committed, and based upon that, they can haul you into court.

The other thing we should point out, the parallel investigation, the school itself, under Title IX, is required under federal law to do an investigation themselves. And the distinction is -- you heard the D.A. there, the district attorney said -- in a criminal case you have to prove this happened beyond a reasonable doubt, high standard. The Title IV investigation is more likely than not that it happened?

One belongs to the school, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the other belongs to the district attorney. What happens next depends upon the evidence they gather and whether they believe, that is the district attorney, that they can prove this case.

BALDWIN: Brynn, stay on it for us.

Brynn Gingras in North Carolina, Joey Jackson, thank you to both of you. JACKSON: Thanks, Brooke.

[14:54:27] BALDWIN: Up next, back to politics, Donald Trump sharing some of his results of his physical with Dr. Oz today. What did they show? We'll tell you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here's something on the tech front that may make your next hotel stay a tad more cozy. It's an app called Alice. Here's this week's "Agility in Action."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are nearly 175,000 hotels around the world with 16.5 million hotel rooms to choose from. With so many choices and other types of competition, like AirBNB, hotels are looking for new ways to distinguish themselves.

(on camera): Thank you.

(voice-over): One way they can do that is better customer service and a more efficient way to manage your requests.

OSAMA ADUB, GENERAL MANAGER, HOTEL AMERICANO: A lot of paper and pencils. You left things open to human error and sometimes things would get missed.

YURKEVICH: Hotel Americano is one of a hundred hotels on a digital platform called Alice. The technology streamlines guest requests so they never get lost or missed by hotel staff.

(PHONE RINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon.

YURKEVICH (on camera): Yeah --