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Sen. John McCain Expressing Concern With The Mounting Questions About The Contacts Between Russian Officials And People Tied To President Trump; The Constitutionality Of President Trump's Revised Travel Plan Is Being Challenged By Seven States Now, Including Washington; South By Southwest Conference Former Vice President Joe Biden Taking On The Fight Against Cancer; This Is Video Out Of Connecticut Where They Are Already Seeing A Lot Of Snow. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 12, 2017 - 16:00   ET

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


[16:00:00] MICHAEL BROWN SR., SON SHOT AND KILLED BY POLICE IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI: I just feel like they should have came out a little earlier. Maybe the city of Ferguson wouldn't have got tore up like that, you know. Maybe things would have happened a different way, you know. So it's almost like they asked for it, you know, if you ask me, you know, for not keeping no truth in there.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Yes.

JASON POLLOCK, DOCUMENTARY FILM DIRECTOR, STRANGER FRUIT: If I could discuss that a little bit too.

WHITFIELD: Real quick. Go ahead, Jason.

POLLOCK: The store -- OK, so, we have spoken to many people in the community and trading a little bag for something at the store is very, very common. There's a drug dealer, we found out in the store. So what Michael did, he is not a drug dealer, OK. He traded a little bit for $20 of cigarillos. And that happens all the time in community where is there's not a lot of money. You barter with each other. What happened at the store is common place and you can see what it is because they smell it. He takes it and they smell it. What were they doing with that if -- they brought it up to their noses. So it's very clear what happened.

WHITFIELD: And as documentarian film maker, these are discoveries that you made Jason Pollack in the time you invested into Ferguson, looking in to this.

Michael Brown Sr., Jason Pollack, thank you so much for your time. The film is "Stranger Fruit," you have received quite the reception there in its unveiling. And thanks so much for your time in bringing us this story. We appreciate it. And our hearts still go out to you, Michael brown, and your family, for your loss.

All right. The CNN NEWSROOM starts right now, a new hour.

All right. Hello, again, everyone. And thank you very much for being with me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right. More freedom, more choices, less cost, that's the sales

speech from Republican leadership promoting their bill to replace Obamacare. And tomorrow we could learn how much it is going to cost. That's when the nonpartisan congressional budget office is expected to release its report on the GOP bill.

Sticker shock is the last thing President Donald Trump needs to get this bill passed, as Republicans are already deeply divided on key parts of the proposed legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: When you're the government governing party trying to get consensus, everybody doesn't get what they want. But we are getting much better policy here.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: If we get what we've got from Ryan, Obamacare-lite, he will not have the votes and we have to get to that point before true negotiations begin. Right now, I think there is a charm offensive going on. Everybody is being nice to everybody because they want us to vote for this. But we're not going to vote for it.

TOM PRICE, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECURITY: I firmly believe that nobody will be worth financially in this -- in the process that we are going through, understanding that they will have choices that they can select the kind of coverage that they want for themselves and for their family, not what the government forces them to buy.

SEN. TOME COTTON (R), ARKANSAS: And I would believe it would have adverse consequences for millions of Americans. And it wouldn't deliver on our promises to reduce the cost of health insurance for Americans. So I would say to my friends in the House of Representatives with whom I serve, do not walk the plank and vote for a bill that cannot pass the Senate and then have to face the consequences of that vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me now to talk more about all this, CNN political commentator Jack Kingston. He is a former Republican congressman for Georgia. Good to see you. And Ellis Henican, a political analyst and "Metro" columnist and bestselling author. Good to see you as well.

All right. So, jack, you first. Is it your feeling the release of this CBO report will be in support of this GOP plan?

JACK KINGSTON, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: You know, it's hard to say. Everybody criticizes CBO. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, have been on record criticizing it. Well, a CBO in 2010 said that 24 million people would be covered by exchanges by now under Obamacare. That number is $10 million. They were 14 million people off.

I remember years ago looking at the CBO report that in 1964, it was predicted that Medicare would cost $9 billion ten years later. And I think it was already over $100 billion --.

WHITFIELD: But given there's such a divide in the GOP over this proposal, is it your feeling that those proponents of this plan really do need a supportive CBO report that says money will be saved, more people will be enticed to get on board with this plan?

KINGSTON: You know, I think those who are opposed, some are going to come on board. I don't think many will be changed by the CBO report one way or the other. But I do know that this is one-third of the step. This is what you can do on reconciliation. The next step is Tom Price going through the 1,400 powers that Obamacare gave HHS. He is going to repeal a lot of those as they drive up the cast. And the third thing is legislation that is free standing which will give everybody another opportunity to take a swing at this thing.

WHITFIELD: OK. Ellis, this was house speaker Paul Ryan earlier today on this new proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:05:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people are going to lose coverage under this?

RYAN: I can't answer that question. It's up to the people. Here's the premise of your question. Are you going to stop mandating people buy health insurance? People are going to do what they want to do with their lives because we believe in individual freedom in this country. So the question is, are we providing a system where people have access to health insurance if they choose to do so? And the answer is yes. But are we going to have some nice looking spreadsheet that says we the government of the United States are going to make people buy something, and therefore, they are all going to buy it, no. That's the fatal concede of Obamacare in the first place.

So it's not our job to make people do something that they don't want to do. It is our job to have a system where people can get universal access to affordable coverage, if they choose to do so or not. That's what we are going to be accomplishing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Ellis, is that a convincing argument?

ELLIS HENICAN, POLITICAL COLUMNIST: So when all those people get bounced off of health care, that's going to be good news. We are going to be real happy about this.

Let me tell you why I know that the CBO score is likely to be pretty dismal tomorrow, Fred. Because if it were going to be good, we would not have raced this thing through the committees and the House of Representatives. And my friends like jack would not be trashing the CBO. If the results were actually facts that it's going to provide better coverage, cheaper coverage for Americans, there wouldn't be all this hard back pedaling on. Ad I promise you that.

WHITFIELD: Jack? KINGSTON: Well, I'm in good company with Chuck Schumer and Nancy

Pelosi. But remember this. When we hear my friend, Ellis and my friend Tom Cotton talking about this being rushed through, 37 probations would which the committees voted on last week had already been passed on the house floor by the very Republicans who are saying this is being rushed through. So I think the reality is no matter what when you're dealing with one-sixth of the economy, there's going to be plenty of room for criticism. And as you know, it is getting criticism from the left and the right.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And you mentioned Tom Cotton. He was pretty critical. In fact he said, you know, at what expense should house Republicans hurry up and get it through only to see it fail in the Senate and what a great detriment that would be.

HENICAN: I love agreeing with Tom Cotton. I mean, I think it's a rare day they get that pleasure. But you are right.

KINGSTON: Only in politics.

HENICAN: Strange bedfellows indeed, Jack. But listen. There's a real squeeze here, right. In order to satisfy the zealots, and I'll use that word advisedly, but the zealots and the free caucus here, you are going to alienate the house and the Senate. And in the end you are going to get something that nobody is going do through yet. This stuff is hard. Remember Democrats tried to do it over the past eight years and got the tar kicked out of them every step of the way.

WHITFIELD: So Jack, is it all going to fast? Is that part of the problem?

KINGSTON: I don't think so. Again, this is one-third of the step. And the first thing they're trying to do is give patient choice, reduce cost and universal access. So I think that that's going to take place. But then the next step really is Tom Price going through the list of mandates that HHS has put on health care to figure out what drives up the cost and what keeps the patient-doctor relationship at bay. And then the third thing will be the area where Tom Cotton and the freedom caucus and my friend Mark Sanford who by the way said yesterday this thing is on the 20 yard line. It can be punched through to a touchdown. Even the Kentucky governor who said he says we think we can get this thing done.

So while there's dissension within the Republican rights, I think they are going to get on board. But the question that I would have I think that the Democrats should not sit back, I think there's a lot of opportunity for them to offer amendments. Imagine what would happen if 10 to 15 Democrats went to speaker Ryan and said we have 15 votes if you will save the following provisions, they would have major influence on this legislation. Instead, you know, Nancy Pelosi has tell them, you got a gag order, sit back and don't use your brain here. I think there's a great opportunity and they are letting it go by.

WHITFIELD: OK. We are going to leave it right there.

Ellis Henican, former congressman Jack Kingston, thank you so much, gentlemen.

KINGSTON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Also this week, CNN will host an exclusive health care town hall with health and human services secretary Tom Price that will be moderated by Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash, Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. eastern time.

All right. Still ahead, Monday is the deadline for the Trump administration to turn over any evidence supporting the president's wiretapping claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: President Trump has to provide the American people, not just the intelligence committee, but the American people with evidence that his predecessor, the former President of the United States is guilty of breaking the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Also this week, President Trump meets with Germany's chancellor, why there's more at stake than just the two country's relationship. That straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:13:54] WHITFIELD: The fallout continues today over the controversial firing of a high-profile attorney from New York. Preet Bharara was one of several dozen attorneys asked by the Trump administration to resign even though Trump assured Bharara after the election that his job was safe. Bharara refused to quit and then got fired.

Senator John McCain says the President had every right to ask for the resignations as other presidents have done, but Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer had a different take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: He will be sorely missed. Preet took on Wall Street and corruption among public officials better than anyone else. I believe the President's decision to change his mind and fire Preet says far more about the President than it does about Preet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A source also telling CNN that President Trump tried to call Bharara Thursday but Bharara would not take the call because of rules against a sitting U.S. attorney's talking directly to U.S. president.

And in two days, President Trump is set to meet with German chancellor Angela Merkel, a politician he said he admires but also very publicly has bashed her refugee policy. And there is plenty at stake right now, not just the important relationship between the United States and Germany but also the European Union, which is looking more fragile since the UK's Brexit vote.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has been writing about the trip for CNN.com and he joins me now from London.

So Nic, so much at stake in the relationship between the U.S. and Germany, and as you write on CNN.com some frailties of the European Union, to what-degree?

[16:15:41] NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, I mean, just look at in weekend, it's been an enormous week in terms in sort of political turmoil in Europe and with elections in up to a dozen European countries coming up, most critically in the Netherlands this week, and in France in May and then of course in Germany, Angela Merkel's country just later this year in September.

I mean what Angela Merkel is coming to the White House is with a lot of criticism from Donald Trump, has criticized her refugee policy for opening the doors of Germany to close to more than a million refugees. He has before last he called that policy disastrous. He has compared her to President Putin I terms of trustworthiness. And he said that the Germans are essentially trying to steal business from the United States because there is this massive trade deficit. And he accuses Germany of artificially setting the value of the euro low so that they can sell more luxury cars to the United States.

Now, this is all criticism of Merkel that she feels, but she doesn't speak about much, should make her life jump pack a few weeks ago when she said there are plenty of iPhones in Berlin. And President should be happy about that.

But the real worry here is not this relationship between Merkel and Trump, but it's the tone of the meeting. I mean President Trump has been very, if you will, unsupportive, is the nicest way to put it about the European Union. And nothing critical he says in this meeting who reflect to most elections this year.

WHITFIELD: So sometimes it's not just what is said, but it will be the body language between the two of them too that will be closely examined. Aside from the refugee, you know, criticism about the, you know, Germany taking in a number of refugees. What do we expect the two to be able to break bread over or to have a conversation about that really will present a positive outcome?

ROBERTSON: You know, in Europe at the moment, it's the populous nationalists that are set to do well in the elections here in the Netherlands and France and in Germany that said to spill words from Angela Merkel as well. And they are all very much in the same mold as Donald Trump. So if he isn't supportive of Merkel, then he is in a way, by default, supportive of these other politicians and some of these other politician who are in the position potentially to pull their countries out of the European Union and therefore collapse the European Union potentially over time.

I mean, when we talk about body language, let's look at the body language between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Donald Trump when she got home to is absolutely hammer for holding his hand. If you remember that picture as they won't just downside just outside the oval office.

So Angela Merkel will be very, very closely scrutinize in Germany to how this meeting goes. It's important for her that she doesn't get criticized in any way by President Trump. But also that he says critical words that, he supports the European Union, and that's something he hasn't said recently.

WHITFIELD: And then quickly, then too, you know, there's a rivalry between a Merkel and a Putin. And then you have got Donald Trump who was praised in a Vladimir Putin and that sets the table potentially for some awkward or uncomfortable moments, potentially, Nic?

ROBERTSON: You know, potentially, this could be really beneficial for President Donald Trump. Angela Merkel believed and trusted in him. She's very -- she's got long historic connections to Russia, to the politics there. She thought she understood Putin. She thought there was a level of trust. But that was shown to be a complete scam. And since then she has been cautious. And if she shares that wisdom with President Trump, then perhaps that would guide him and there are plenty of politicians in the United States, I think who would like to see her do that.

WHITFIELD: All so fascinating and potentially fascinating too.

NIc Robertson, thank you so much for being with us from London. Appreciate it.

All right, straight ahead, another Jewish community center has been evacuated after a bomb threat. Details on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:24:07] WHITFIELD: Authorities in New York are investigating yet another bomb threat to a Jewish community center, the Lewis S., Walk JCC in Rochester in New York was evacuated for part of the day. This is the second time in a week. The facility has been the target of a bomb threat. And it's the latest in an epidemic of threats to JCCs across the country.

CNN's Sara Ganim has more on this - Sara. .

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this rash of threats against the Jewish institutions continue. The tally now, more than 150, 154, with two separate incidents in week. The Jewish community -- while the Jewish community is celebrating a Jewish holiday, (INAUDIBLE).

This week the Jewish children's museum in Brooklyn received one of these bomb threats. Governor Andrew Cuomo visited the museum after it happened. And then today, the Rochester Jewish community center, another bomb threat. This is the second threat they received this week, and they had to evacuate for part of the day. That means no services for the community. They just recently got the all clear to re-open. I spoke to the director of the center for the study of hate and extremism about this rash and all that has been happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:25:14] BRIAN LEVIN, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: We don't know exactly what the motivation is. But what I think we can say is for the person who is doing this, they are very committed to it because we are now seeing wave after wave of these kind of threats that are virtually unprecedented in recent years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: There was an arrest earlier this month, a man accused of being behind at least eight of these threats. But they have clearly continued and I have put a little bit of context around this, Fred. Across the country, hate crimes are up. And in many places, the numbers are being driven by a rise in anti-Semitic crimes. Here in New York City, for example. Anti-Semitic crimes are up 189 percent. Across the country crime against the Jewish community and the account from more than 50 percent of all state based hate crime - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Gamin, thank you so much for being that to us. Appreciate it.

All right, straight ahead, U.S. Senator John McCain calls for more investigations into the relationship between Russian officials and people tied to President Trump. That story is next.

Plus, we will hear from some Muslim-Americans on the President's travel ban and his plan to fight terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His message is he's not -- it's not he's hating all Muslims. He is just trying to protect this country as a President. That's his job.

[16:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hi. Hello, again. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

U.S. Senator John McCain is expressing concern with the mounting questions about the contacts between Russian officials and people tied to President Trump. Appearing on CNN State of the Union this morning, the Arizona Republican who has advocated a hard line against Russia wants further investigation of those close to the president who advocated for better relations with Russia during the campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Jake, there's a lot of things about our relations with Russia that trouble me a lot. For example, why was the provision in the Republican platform that called for the provision of defensive weapons to Ukraine after being invaded by Russia? Why was that taken out of the Republican platform? There's a lot of aspects of this whole relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin that requires further scrutiny. And so, far I don't think the American people have gotten all the answers. In fact, I think there's a lot more shoes to drop from this centipede. This whole issue, the relations with Russia and who communicated with him and under what circumstances, clearly cries out for an investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring back out our panel. A political analyst, former congressman from Georgia, Jack Kingston, and Ellis Henican. All right. I'm glad you could be back with us. So, Jack, let me begin with you. Senator McCain wants more scrutiny, investigations on the president and his ties with any Russia counterparts. Already, you've got intel committee, oversight, ethics committee investigations. Is the answer more or is it your belief that the air will eventually be cleared by the ongoing investigation?

JACK KINGSTON, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the ongoing investigation is sufficient. Most members of the House know there are Democrats, the Republicans and there's the intel committee. The intel committee seems to be very nonpartisan and very serious. I think that they are the right people to take a look at this and they already have all the proper clearances to get the information that they need. And as James Clapper has said many times, as well as other people in the intelligence community, there is no evidence whatsoever of collusion between the Trump administration and the Russian government. But at the same time, there was Russian interference. And so, the more we know about that, the better off we are as a country.

WHITFIELD: Right. And there are no conclusions to these investigations. They are ongoing. So, you know, Ellis, is it moving too slowly or is it time for a special prosecutor to be called in and pick up the pace?

ELLIS HENICAN, METRO COLUMNIST AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR: You know the best argument against the current approach is meeting Congressman Nunes, right, who is supposedly leading the investigation in the House, and really spends more time as a PR guy trying to beat down the notion that somehow the Russians had nothing to do with this, clearly, Fred. And I think many Republicans are coming around to this view. Unless there's some kind of independent entity that separated from partisan politics, we don't have any reason that we can believe the results of an investigation. So the quickly we get to that, the more we are going to put this thing behind us.

KINGSTON: But, Fred, I would say this. There has not been a crime. You know, with Watergate, which I understand is the Holy Grail for Democrats, there was a break in. There was a crime that was committed. We don't know of a crime and you know, the Democrats have known about this. There was a FISA request back in June. There was one in October. President Obama knew that the Russians were trying to interfere with the American election. Why haven't the Democrats come up with anything? All there are right now are allegations. And if there was something that showed OK, wait a minute, here's the money trail, this shows that a crime was committed, that would be a different matter. But remember, Ellis, all the people who are investigating...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Is the investigation in part to discover in part whether there is something criminal happening?

(CROSSTALK)

[16:35:01] HENICAN: Jack, if you want to shut this thing down before there's been any fair investigation, we may never get to that question, but I got to tell you, there are a lot of potential criminality, including the one that the President of the United States accused his predecessor of, maybe we can start with that.

KINGSTON: You know, I didn't hear this call from the Democrats on fast and furious, on Benghazi, or on the IRS scandal.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That was a pretty lengthy investigation.

KINGSTON: That was special prosecutors, though. What I'm saying is there was -- are you saying all the Democrats on the intel committee are partisan hacks who can't do a good job? I don't believe there are. I think that the Democrats and the Republicans on those committees handle themselves with great integrity. I will give you one, Adam Schiff is a friend of mine, I have a lot of faith in him.

(CROSSTALK)

HENICAN: He's trying.

KINGSTON: He's not a Trump supporter. He is going to be in there, he's going to scrutinize every single paper and documents. And if there's anything about it, he is going to say, look, we need to go further. But right now, I trust the people. As you know, Ellis, if you had a special prosecutor, they would have to staff up. That would take months because they would have to get clearance on these people.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: We will leave it right there on that. So let's just gear a little bit. Now, we're talking about the department of justice facing that deadline tomorrow, turn over all relevant information on the president's accusations that you helped to underscore there, Jack, about this wiretapping. Earlier today, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle weighed in on this and all demanded that the president come clean with whatever proof he has. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SCHIFF, (R) RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE: There's one of two possibilities here, either the president quite deliberately for some reason made up this charge or perhaps more disturbing, the president really believes this. MCCAIN: I think the president has one of two choices, either retract

or to provide the information that the American people deserve because if his predecessor violated the law, President Obama violated the law, we have got a serious issue here, to say the least.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the member in the so-called Gang of Eight, the top leader who is get this kind of information, have you seen any information to suggest that there are wiretaps?

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you clear up this question?

(CROSSTALK)

RYAN: I don't want to get ahead of the intelligence committee. So I don't want to get ahead of the intelligence committee in their thorough investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Ellis, what do you suppose will happen with tomorrow's deadline, proof or no proof?

HENICAN: No. I mean, there's no hint of it anywhere. The only person is the president who still seems to be hanging tough on this. There is no easy way out for him, right. Either he's got to acknowledge that he made the whole thing up that he was gullible and believed a bunch of crazy conspiracy stuff or he has to find some proof, nobody can seem to find it.

WHITFIELD: So, Hack, if there's no proof, does the president owe his predecessor an apology?

KINGSTON: I think that he would if it shows that there was no FISA request either in June or in October, if there was no tracking of this computer because...

(CROSSTALK)

KINGSTON: The president's rebuttal was very legalistic, he didn't say heck no, we absolutely didn't do that. He said something like he did not personally order it. What does that mean? So I do think there's something else here we're overlooking. And that is that Trump wants to know who the leakers are and I think that by going ahead with this...

WHITFIELD: That's not what he said.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I'm talking about the tweets that he said in a factual way, was stating that the predecessor did wiretap his phone, so that's what the evidence is supposed to be about tomorrow.

(CROSSTALK) KINGSTON: But I think along the way, they're going to find out who these leakers are. What I'm saying there may be some method here that we're not thinking about.

WHITFIELD: I don't know, it's Washington, leaks, right. Leaks forever.

HENICAN: Bring it on.

WHITFIELD: You know it, Jack.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right, gentlemen. We'll keep it there. Thanks so much. We'll you again soon, former congressman Jack Kingston and Ellis Henican. I appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: The constitutionality of President Trump's revised travel plan is being challenged by seven states now, including Washington. The U.S. district judge in Seattle who put the first ban on hold and asking attorneys to present more information before ruling on the new ban. A revised executive order prevents people from six mainly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days. Iraq is no longer on that list. Supporters of the ban aren't always who you might expect. Martin Savidge spoke with a group of Muslim Americans about the travel restrictions and the president's politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two Muslims faced an anger and ugliness they had never seen before. Thanks to Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had some of my close friends turn their back on me.

SAVIDGE: Pakistani Americans and Muslim, the backlash wasn't against their faith, but their politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's blame it on Trump.

SAVIDGE: Rasheed (ph) campaigned for Trump, twice got to meet him, Kahn (ph) and Rasheed (ph) even went to his inauguration, all of which earned them scorn from fellow Muslims.

[16:40:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had to receive comments like I never knew you were a racist, you're anti-Islamic, you're a traitor, brown guy trying to wait, brownie, all of these.

SAVIDGE: Trump's campaign rhetoric particularly about Muslims bothered many people, including Saleem Sheikh. He is friends with Rasheed (ph) attends the same class and is a lifelong Republican who voted for Hillary Clinton.

SALEEM SHEIKH, CLINTON VOTER: I was quite concerned about some of Mr. Trump's statements at that time.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: A total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

SAVIDGE: How could you support a man who seemed to be so anti-Muslim?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the statement about the Muslim ban came out, I was kind of offended, to be very honest. But then, I took a deep breath and I looked at the message behind the statement.

SAVIDGE: The message Rasheed (ph) and Kahn (ph) heard wasn't discrimination. Instead, they heard Trump identifying a problem they see their own faith. When they American leaders even many Muslims up to now haven't openly faced, violent radical extremism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main war is within Islam, it is not outside that Islam. And the first war that we have to win is the war that the reformists or the modern Muslims have to win against the radicals.

SAVIDGE: Terrorism is a byproduct of that war. And Trump is taking actions against some Muslims to protect all Americans. Still, they admit the first travel ban was a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I think that was too much. I mean, I did not agree what him in the beginning.

SAVIDGE: Do you think it's better now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little better now, it is. But again, you know, his message is, he's not hating all the Muslims, he's just trying to protect this country as a president. That's his job.

SAVIDGE: Saleem disagrees saying the best way to protect America is not shutting people out.

SHEIKH: I am an American citizen. So I want to look and see at America as being number one in the world, but I think it can do that by reaching out to the people.

SAVIDGE: Like many of Donald Trump's supporters, Rasheed (ph) and Kahn (ph) say that kind of thinking is too idealistic in today's world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America's national security should be beyond any politics, it should be beyond any religion. That should be our top priority being an American.

SAVIDGE: As you heard, all three are from Pakistan. And Pakistan is not under any travel restrictions currently from the Trump administration. When I asked them maybe it should be considered, after all there are questions about Pakistan's connections to the Taliban and the fact that Osama bin-Laden was found in Pakistan, all three men were unanimous, no, they said, there's no need.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Illinois.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:47:10] WHITFIELD: Newly released video is leaving questions and emotions about one of the country's most controversial police-involved shooting, the 2014 death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri. The tape may shed new light on what happened in the hours before his death. Last night, at the South By Southwest Festival, the documentary, Stranger Fruit, showcased this video of Brown. And again, it did that today at the festival. The St. Louis Police Department can't verify the video's authenticity, but the tape potentially challenges the police narrative that Brown stole from a convenient store moments before he was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson back in August, 2014. The documentary argues Brown's altercation with store employees later that day showed on this video that was released by Ferguson Police stemmed from a misunderstanding tied to an earlier alleged drug deal with the store clerks. Last hour, I spoke to Jason Pollack, the filmmaker who obtained this footage and Michael Brown's father, who was at the documentary premier.

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JASON POLLOCK, DOCUMENTARY FILM DIRECTOR STRANGER FRUIT: I obtained this video by deciding to move to Ferguson, work with the family, and do real investigative journalism for the last two years. And that's how the truth comes out when you do real work and you focus on one story and you dig into it. We originally found the paper work in the St. Louis County police report, which shows that they saw a video at 1:13 a.m. of Michael Brown walking into the convenient store. And that tipped us off that this happened. They admit that it happened in their own report and the document we found proves it. So then saying they don't know what they're talking about is ridiculous, because they either don't read the report or they're not telling us the truth. Based on everything that's happened, it seems like they're not telling us the truth.

We have spoken to everyone in the community and trading a little bag for something at the store is very, very common. There's a drug dealer we found out in the store. So what Michael did, he's not a drug dealer, OK. He traded a little bit for $20 of cigarillos and that happens all the time in communities where there's not a lot of money. You barter with each other. What happened at the store is common place, and you can see what it is because they smell it. He takes it and he smells it. What were they doing with that? They brought it up to their noses, so it's very clear what happened.

WHITFIELD: How does this make you feel, seeing this video, seeing this documentary?

[16:49:55] MICHAEL BROWN, SR., SON SHOT AND KILLED BY POLICE IF FERGUSON, MISSOURI: It makes me feel happy because you know Mike had been demonized. And he needed some truth and the truth needed to be out for the public. So they could see it for themselves, and be judgmental on the right thing instead of what was put out there to make him look like a bad person. So I'm satisfied, you know, hopefully, this can move forward maybe to try to open up a case.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: And we reached out to the St. Louis Police Department, no comment on this documentary and police in St. Louis would not authenticate the video as well.

All right, also happening, at this year's South by Southwest Conference former Vice President Joe Biden taking on the fight against cancer. He is speaking at this hour. CNN senior correspondent Laurie Segall is there. So, Laurie, what is being said?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Fred, he came to the stage moments ago and he's expected to talk about his battle to fight for cancer research. And it's a very interesting audience for him to come here to South by Southwest. This is where former president Barack Obama came last year to try to inspire entrepreneurs to put their great minds together and really tackle problems. So that is what the former vice president is here to do today. He wants to talk to entrepreneurs, inspire people to really put their brains together and take on a challenging problem, one that's obviously so personal to him as he lost his son a couple years ago to cancer. That's kind of why he's here today. We'll probably hear a lot of heart and soul in this conversation and him kind of pleading with folks to take this and run with it, and try to find some innovative solutions for cancer research. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Laurie, you have a new tech series coming out. Let's take a quick preview look at Mostly Human.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just insane to me that something that somebody does online would result in execution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think that people will fall in love with robots?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like its inevitable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tech is now love, war, life, death. Ultimately, tech is mostly human.

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WHITFIELD: All right, a lot going on there. Laurie, what are you most proud of there, what are you revealing to us?

SEGALL: So much you know that the idea behind this show is to really make you think about things and the impact of technology in a way that you never have before. I like to talk about our relationship with technology is officially complicated, let's start talking about it. So I think we're going to surprise you. I did go to a robot engagement party, which is one of the mind-blowing experiences I have had. And we really kind of talked to people on these stories and discovered things, that might say more -- that make us ask the more philosophical questions about technology. And that's what we hope you'll do when you watch the show. Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. How do you explain the robot fiance to mom? Can't wait to watch the rest of this. Mostly Human, with Laurie Segall, thank you so much. You don't want to miss it, it starts streaming today on CNN Go. We'll be right back.

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[16:57:21] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Here's an update on CNN's Hero of 2016, Jason Aristizabal. He's dedicated his life to helping people with disabilities in Colombia. While in New York, he visited with Jorge Munoz, a fellow Colombian, who was in the 2009 top 10 heroes. Here's part of their inspirational meet-up.

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WHITFIELD: So nice to find out what else happened when they met. Go to CNNheroes.com. And while you're there, nominate someone you think could be the next CNN Hero.

Now to this, a northeaster is coming and this is video out of Connecticut where they are already seeing a lot of snow. CNN meteorologist Tom Sater is tracking this storm for us. Tom.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, March came in like a lamb, but somebody is poking the lion a little early. What I'm about to share with you is going to be quite staggering for those of you who live along the I-95 corridor, from Washington, D.C. to Boston, you could see up to one to two feet of snow. You get this, even without the snow fall, winds may be gusting 80 to 100 miles per hour. The storm system already dropped a little bit across Arkansas, Tennessee, Wilmington, picked up over one inch in North Carolina. That was a record. Aberdeen, South Dakota is over 9. Chicago will see its one- inch plus, the most hasty seen since December 18.

The energy comes out of the upper Midwest storms, where already warnings were in effect, Minneapolis three to five. The warnings extend however across the Ohio valley. Warnings have now been extended to New York City, a blizzard watch, the winds are really going to kick in, high seas, but it's the amount of snowfall we're still trying to fit together. Where will the track be along the coastline? If it's further out in the ocean, that snowfall comes along the coastline. If we have that low closer inland, the heavier snows will be inland. Models disagree, but only by a couple of inches. Washington, D.C. could see 12 to 14 inches, all the way up through Baltimore, to Philadelphia, New York City, you're looking at the possibility of 10 to 12, maybe even more. Models even want to throw in a little bit into the European model into Boston. So again, this is going to cripple the area beginning tomorrow afternoon's rush hour into Tuesday morning's rush hour. But again, Fredricka, the winds are low, and could take out power hundreds of thousands, without the heavy snow.

WHITFIELD: Wow. SATER: So again, this is going to be a beast to watch the next couple of days.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Thanks for the warning.