Skip to main content

tv   New Day Weekend With Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul  CNN  February 15, 2020 4:00am-5:00am PST

4:00 am
i'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody. >> what the attorney general's saying is i'm going to do exactly what trump wants. i just wish he wouldn't treweet about it. >> reporter: the justice department said it won't bring criminal charges against mccabe. >> we are guilty of doing our jobs and nothing else. >> mccabe, what he's done is despicable. >> reporter: as attorney william barr has privately called on prosecutors to review the case against michael falcon l. >> way did is unfair.
4:01 am
>> i will handle each case as i think the law requires. >> reporter: eight days until the caucuses, and a question of the iowa debacle repeat. >> i have great confidence. they're not going to be using an app. let me be clear. welcome, it's good to be with you. i'm victor blackwell. >> good morning, i'm amara walker in for christi paul. we're following breaking news out of germany. ukrainian president zelensky sat down for a wide-ranging interview with christiane amanpour. this is at the munich security conference. he talked about how the impeachment in the u.s. affected his ability to secure that much-needed aid for ukraine. at one point he joked he always wanted to be popular in the u.s. just not like this. watch. >> now i'm very popular in usa.
4:02 am
[ applause ] but i didn't want to find such way. but you know, but if this way will help ukraine, i'm ready for next call with mr. trump. >> the u.s. is perhaps the most important supporter of ukraine, provides both military, monetary support. zelensky spent a lot of the interview saying he wanted to begin rebuilding the relationship with the u.s. >> translator: i want to come and start it from scratch. our relations to agree on some contracts, to sign some arran arrangemen arrangements, to agree on the strategic things, investments, let's prepare the package of the documents and arrange the meeting. so the ball is in the courtyard
4:03 am
of the united states of america. >> all right. joining us to discuss, cnn national security correspondent vivian salama, in munich. we also have cnn political analyst and white house reporter for the "washington post." thank you both for being with us. vivian, let's start with you. again, a wide-ranging interview. but what zelensky really kept hitting at was the fact he needs the united states' support. we heard from u.s. senators at the end, both the republican and democrat, both saying, look, we support your efforts, especially fighting the separatists in the east. tell us more about how important -- clearly zelensky was saying this is going to be important to maintain a strong relationship with the united states. >> reporter: that's right. and so he was actually requested that we essentially start the relationship from scratch after the impeachment trial ended. he said this is a time for a reboot in the relationship with
4:04 am
the united states. he talked a lot about some of the challenges that ukraine faces and suggested that ukraine has a bad rap especially out of washington, where president trump's rhetoric has been very critical of ukraine as far as it being one of the most corrupt countries in the world. he really pushed back on that notion. he said, you know, yes, we have problems, he acknowledged those problems. but he said that he came into power wanting to tackle those problems and change course. he really pushed back on the notion of corruption. he also emphasized the need for western support from the united states and european allies, especially as they face challenges with russia, russia, of course, launched an incursion several years ago in eastern ukraine. they still continue that battle until today. specifically with regard to military aid and other kind of support, he said that it is so critical, and he hopes that moving forward the united states can see why ukraine is a good partner and someone that they should continue to deal with.
4:05 am
>> we heard from president zelensky that he's looking forward to this white house meeting that was offered. we all remember from that july transcript. it has not happened. that president trump and president zelensky met in september at the u.n. what are we hearing from the white house, from the administration about timing and about why this has not happened? >> reporter: well, the president's still fresh off the acquittal in the senate from impeachment. right now he's more focused on domestic politics, focused on retribution for the people who testified against him as part of this impeachment process. he's not necessarily looking to move forward with the u.s.-ukraine relationship just yet. it seems like he's obsessed with taking revenge on the people who testified against him. at some point there may be a meeting between president zelensky and president trump, but president trump has raw feelings about impeachment. he still feels like he was treated unfairly by the house. and he doesn't like the fact that impeachment is forever going to be tied to his name. so i think it may be early for
4:06 am
the president himself to want to bring zelensky back to the white house. there are several people within his administration who are saying, yes, we need to move forward with this meeting. we need to go ahead and have this meeting happen, put this behind us, try to move forward. the president is looking backward and looking at trying to exact revenge on the people who made him the third impeached president in history. it may be a while before we have the white house meeting between president trump and president zelensky. >> we saw zelensky push back pretty hard when christiane asked about corruption in crane, which is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. here's what he said -- >> reporter: mr. president, as you know because of all of this, ukraine has been labeled one of the most corrupt countries in the world. that that is one of the reputational damages to your country in the wake of all of this. and recently -- you know, really recently, in november, around thanksgiving, president trump
4:07 am
told fox news why should we give money to a country that's known corrupt? it's a very corrupt country. i mean, i love the people in ukraine. i know ukrainian people, they're great people. but it's known as being the third most-corrupt country in the world. >> translator: that's not true. that's not true. when -- when i have meeting with mr. president trump and he said about that -- he said that previous years it was so corrupt, this country. ukraine, i told him very honestly, and i was very open with him, i told him that we fight with corruption. we fight with this. fight each day. but please, please stop to say that ukraine is corrupted country because from now, it's not true. we want to change this image. >> and he want to change the
4:08 am
image because, again, we've seen and heard at least from the u.s. that military aid has been contingent apparently on the view that ukraine is corrupt. and vivian, to that point, i mean, zelensky campaigned hard on ending the war in the east of ukraine. i think he promised that he would wrap it up within 12 months, clearly that's not going to happen. again, this is a pressing issue for zelensky, especially when it comes to his viability as president. >> reporter: that's right. he was essentially a political newcomer when he came to power last spring. he won primarily on that anti-corruption platform where he said we had to do away with the old and bring in new values into the government of ukraine. and so for him, to hear that repeatedly uttered by the president of the united states especially, but even others, he says, you know week, changing course at this point. and so he's trying to get others to put their faith in him, and
4:09 am
he wants that rhetoric to go out in public, as well. but until now, he hasn't really found that out of president trump in particular who continues to raise the issue, not only of ukrainian corruption but also of the lack of will by european allies to do more to help ukraine both on -- in terms of its military aid, as well as its battle with corruption. so this is something that he said we really have to try to work together to change the image of ukraine, and he hopes that president trump will get on board with that image. >> getting on board, but also more than a photo op, more than a handshake. he wants something concrete. >> substantive. >> when he spokes with the president in that white house meeting that was offered. vivian and tolu, thank you both. >> thank you. still to come, a stunning week in washington. the justice department made some pretty controversial decisions involving trump allies and trump foes.
4:10 am
critics asking who is really in charge? the attorney general or the president? ♪ the clock is ticking, time is running out ♪ ♪ give her something that will leave her with no doubt. ♪ make this valentine's day mean more. ♪ jared.
4:11 am
in august 1619, a ship appeared on this horizon, near point comfort, virginia. it carried more than 20 enslaved africans, who were sold to the colonists. no aspect of the country we know today has been untouched by the slavery that followed. america was not yet america, but this was the moment it began. [sfx: typing] like... a business borrowing solution to help get a little more space with a lot less mom. or home insight, to search for a new house within your budget. because, they really need their space.
4:12 am
pnc - make today the day. ♪wild thing, you make my heart sing.♪ ♪you make everything... groovy...♪ done yet? yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry. you sure? hmm.mmm. ♪come on, come on, wild thing. if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. that life of the party look walk it off look one more mile look reply all look own your look... ...with fewer lines. there's only one botox® cosmetic. it's the only one... ...fda approved... ...to temporarily make frown lines... ...crow's feet... ...and forehead lines... ...look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic, may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing,
4:13 am
speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping, and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. so, give that just saw a puppy look. and whatever that look is. look like you... with fewer lines. see results at botoxcosmetic.com
4:14 am
this morning there is plenty of skepticism the rift between the president and his appointed attorney, bill barr, it's growing and taking twist and turns. >> sure is. barr saying the president's tweets make it impossible to do his job. the president responding to the rebuke with, what else, a tweet, writing as president he can intervene in a criminal case if he wanted to but hasn't so far. >> after that tweet, barr delivered a big blow to the president's deep state conspiracy theatory. he announced andrew mccabe will not face any charges. we'll talk more that in a moment. as the justice department actively faces accusations that it caved to political pressure over roger stone's case, barr's now reviewing the case of
4:15 am
another trump ally, michael flynn. >> the president escaping washington now at mar-a-lago in florida for the weekend. sarah westwood is in west palm beach covering the president. sarah? >> reporter: that's right. president trump heading down here to florida after that tumultuous week in washington that saw increased scrutiny of the justice department and whether it operates independently. president trump deepened the strutee yesterday when he tweet -- scrutiny yesterday when he tweeted that he does have the legal right in his eyes to intervene in criminal proceedings. that raising new questions about doj impartiality because it came just days after the president openly criticized the justice department's sentencing recommendations for a former con fay don't, roger -- confidante, roger stone. the federal prosecutors on the case quit in protest. there was a lot of back and forth between the white house and the justice department with attorney general bill barr issuing a rare rebuke to his boss saying that the president
4:16 am
wading into open, active cases hurts his ability to do his job. take a listen. >> to have public statements and tweets made about the department, about our people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department, and about judges before whom we have cases make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors and the department that we're doing our work with integrity. >> reporter: now this comes as cnn reports that barr quietly ordered a review of the case of michael flynn. recall that flynn was a former national security adviser who in 2017 pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about a conversation he'd had with the then-russian ambassador. that case now under review by the justice department in a move widely perceived as something
4:17 am
that could be placating president trump. and this has caused a lot of criticism from democrats, even some reservations expressed by republicans. the president seeing intervention in issues. senator doug jones from alabama said that the president's actions with regard to the justice department are unprecedented. take a listen. >> i think you almost have to go back to john mitchell who was nixon's attorney general who went to prison for some of the things he did for richard nixon. this is unprecedented. >> reporter: and complicating the relationship between the white house and the justice department this week was the doj's decision to drop its criminal investigation of former top fbi official andrew mccabe. cnn reported that president trump was not happy with the justice department's decision not to pursue criminal charges of mccabe, who the president has long attacked as a foe. >> all right. thank you. let's talk about that
4:18 am
because more than not happy, it's reported that president trump was downright angry when he learned that the justice department was dropping that two-year criminal investigation into the former fbi deputy director. mccabe spoke with cnn about the dropping of the investigation last night. here's a portion of that conversation. >> absolutely the right thing to do then, and i would do it again tomorrow if i was in the same situation and looking at the same facts. what we have seen through the multiple investigations so far, all of the work of the i.g. looking at everything, each one of us did, the decisions we made, the communications around them, everything you could possibly imagine, millions of documents. even the biggest critics have concluded that we were absolutely authorized in opening the cases we did. in my judgment, it would have been a dereliction of duty not to open the cases we did under the concerns that we had and the facts we were working with at the time.
4:19 am
we are guilty of doing our jobs and nothing else. >> according to transcripts, the federal judge who was appointed by republican president george w. bush told prosecutors last year that the involvement of the white house in the case gives the appearance of a government run like a banana republic. >> with me to discuss is paige pate, criminal defense and constitutional attorney. welcome, thanks for being here. let me start with mccabe. a hell of a week for doj. let's start here. back in september, you had doj attorneys saying, listen, we're just a couple of days out, just give us a little more time. that was in the summer. to go this long and nothing, what's your reaction? >> i'm surprised by it. we know that the president was always interested in having mccabe prosecuted. we know the department of justice took a very long time with the case, they took it to a grand jury on one occasion. so i think the decision not to bring formal criminal charges
4:20 am
was a surprise. clearly a surprise to president trump. now the question is now, what's he going to do about it? is there going to be another reversal from the department of justice just simply because trump thinks it was the wrong decision? >> well see. >> on thursday the attorney general essentially parties his independence and says he will not be bullied. on friday we learn that he has ordered this review of the michael flynn investigation. optics are terrible. if you're trying to assert your independence. do you see a direct contradiction, though? >> i see a lot of contradictions. first i'm trying to figure out what exactly are they going to review about the michael flynn case. he was prosecuted. he pled guilty. the case was set for sentencing. his cooperation didn't turn out maybe as well as the government had expected. so they were going to recommend some prison time. that's fine. happens all the time. what does not happen is what we saw in the stone case where main justice, the attorney general comes in and says, look, i
4:21 am
understand you're handling the case, you're the front-line prosecutor, i don't agree with what you're doing anymore. i don't wanted the attorney general's involvement in the flynn case by picking some prosecutor from outside of the district, having him come in and review a case that's already been handled. it's already been completed. >> what did you make of the interview with the attorney general this week where he says the president makes it impossible to do his job if he continues to tweet, and then the president tweeted? no one expects that is going to resign because the president's still tweeting. what was the practical fruit of saying that? >> it is impossible for barr to do his job the right way as long as the president continues to interfere with these investigations and these cases. i think it's clear that barr is not going to do the job the right way. what happened in the stone case, and i don't know that everyone appreciates how extraordinary that is. i've been handling federal criminal cases for over 25 years now. and to have the department of justice step in after a
4:22 am
sentencing recommendation has been made by the frontline prosecutors and say, no, no, we've changed our mind. that's not our recommendation. that's extraordinary because that initial recommendation had to be approved to begin with. so what i know happened here even though there's no, you know, trail of it, the president probably didn't pick up the phone and talk to barr, was that the decision to reduce the sentencing recommendation for stone was made because of trump's involvement. there's no question about that. and that's highly extraordinary. and it leads to a of confidence in the justice department. >> yeah. >> we're all watching this unfold before our eyes. >> what's interesting is that two days after he personed to the judge den -- we learned that the judge denied a new trial, he is requesting a new trial again. we'll see where that goes now that there's this degree of intervention. good to have you. >> thank you, victor. >> all right. still ahead, the ball is in your court. a message to president trump from ukraine's president zelensky about a future white
4:23 am
house visit. cent's christiane amanpour asked zelensky about that and about the call that led the president's impeachment. she will join us after this break. sinex. vicks my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on.
4:24 am
4:25 am
oh no, here comes gthe neighbor probably to brag about how amazing his xfinity customer service is.
4:26 am
i'm mike, i'm so busy. good thing xfinity has two-hour appointment windows. they have night and weekend appointments too. he's here. bill? karolyn? nope! no, just a couple of rocks. download the my account app to manage your appointments making today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. i'll pass.
4:27 am
more now on the breaking news. this morning the president of ukraine says he is ready to reset his country's relationship with the u.s. >> speaking with our own christiane amanpour, vladimir zelensky thanked president trump for u.s. support in his country's war with russia and talked about fighting corruption in ukraine. cnn's chief international anchor christiane amanpour joining us live now from munich. really great interview. and have to say we were entertained by it, as well. we saw the comedian that zelensky was before he became president ukrai ukraine. we also saw in your interview that he wants to move beyond the
4:28 am
impeachment scandal that he found himself at the center of and how much he needs the united states. >> reporter: that's exactly right. it's an incredible gathering here as the annual munich security conference where world leaders come and talk about what's at stake in the world, and particularly between europe and the united states in terms of alliances and challenges. and of course, ukraine is smack dab in the middle of that. as president zelensky told me and told the group here, the war in ukraine which is because of russian intervention and annexation of crimea and parts of intervention in east ukraine is not just ukrainian war, he said it is a european war. so much is at stake. and he had to because of the impeachment scandal and because all the -- the unwanted publicity that's thrust him and his country center stage. he had to tread a very important line. thanking the united states,
4:29 am
president trump, for their support for ukraine. when i asked him about being dragged into this, this is how he responded -- >> now i'm very popular in usa. [ applause ] but i didn't want to find such way. but you know, but if this way will help ukraine, i'm ready for next call with mr. trump. >> reporter: there you go. so he's bringing to bear, he's very charismatic, he was an actor, as you pointed out. he played a president in his tv show called "servant of the people." in fact, his party is called that. remember, he won 73% of the popular vote in the second round. he was very, very heartily endorsed by the ukrainian people and knows that he depends to a
4:30 am
great extent on support from his most powerful ally, the u.s. he was very, very clear to say that they still needed that. that he thought that anybody, if there was ever any quid pro quo which he says he knew nothing about, but that it would be not fair because that would be essentially holding ukraine hostage to a sort of a global chessboard, but also to u.s. domestic politics. he said it would be unfair. when i asked about the perennial accusations of corruption against ukraine, he admitted absolutely that in the past there were these issues. i asked him about president trump talking about it, and this was the back and forth between us -- >> translator: i want to come and start it from scratch. our relations to agree on some contracts, to sign some arran arrangemen arrangements, to agree on the strategic things, investments, let's prepare the package of the
4:31 am
documents and arrange the meeting. so the ball is in the courtyard of the united states of america. >> reporter: mr. president, as you know, because of all of this ukraine has been labeled one of the most corrupt countries in the world. that that is one of the reputational damages to your country in the wake of all of this. and recently -- you know, really recently in november, around thanksgiving, president trump told fox news why should we give money to a country that's known corrupt. it's a very corrupt country. i mean, i love the people in ukraine. i know ukrainian people, they're great people. it's known as being the third most-corrupt country in the world. >> so no problem. >> translator: that's not true. that's not true. when i have meeting with mr. president trump and he said
4:32 am
about -- he said that previous years it was so corrupt, this country. ukraine, i told him very honestly, and i was war open with him, i told him that we fight with corruption, we fight with this. fight each day. but please, please stop to say that ukraine is corrupt country. for now it's not truth. we want to change this image. >> reporter: so he was very passionate on that level talking about a new administration, talking about a new era in ukraine and pushing back against those accusations. previously what you heard him say is that he would like to have that meeting that president trump invited him to in the famous first phone call to the white house after his election. and he's waiting for that. he would love to have that. and again, just making it absolutely clear that the relationship with the united states is vital for both ukraine and the united states because ukraine, as he said, is holding
4:33 am
the wall between interference from russia and the freedom of the rest of the world, the rest of the western world. there was a distinguished panel of bipartisan u.s. senators there. and they also spoke about the rock-solid support from the united states for ukraine. this all done in front of a live audience of -- of officials from all over the world including, as i said, a delegation of u.s. senators. later this afternoon, i will be interviewing the house speaker nancy pelosi, so there's a lot going on here. amara, victor? >> great stuff. christiane amanpour, appreciate you as always. thank you so much. let's turn to 20022002 race because -- 2020 race because several democratic candidates are sweeping through nevada. early voting starts today. one week before the caucuses. the latest from the campaign trail next. hi guys. this is the chevy silverado with the world's first invisible trailer. invisible trailer? and it's not the trailer right next to us? this guy? you don't believe me? hop in. good lookin' pickup, i will say that.
4:34 am
oh wow. silverado offers an optional technology package with up to 15 different views - including one enhanced view that makes your trailer appear invisible. wow. - that's pretty sweet. - that's cool. oooohh! that's awesome. where'd the trailer go? i love it. it's magic.
4:35 am
100% online car buying. carvana's had a lot of firsts. car vending machines. and now, putting you in control of your financing. at carvana, get personalized terms, browse for cars that fit your budget, then customize your down payment and monthly payment. and these aren't made-up numbers. it's what you'll really pay, right down to the penny. whether you're shopping or just looking. it only takes a few seconds, and it won't affect your credit score. finally! a totally different way to finance your ride.
4:36 am
only from carvana. the new way to buy a car. doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. there's my career,... my cause,... my choir. i'm a work in progress. so much goes... into who i am. hiv medicine is one part of it. prescription dovato is for adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment and who aren't resistant to either of the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. dovato has 2... medicines in... 1 pill to help you reach and then stay undetectable. so your hiv can be controlled with fewer medicines...
4:37 am
while taking dovato. you can take dovato anytime of day,... with food... or without. don't take dovato if you're allergic to any of its... ingredients or if you take dofetilide. if you have hepatitis b, it can change during treatment with dovato and become harder to treat. your hepatitis b may get worse or become life-threatening... if you stop taking dovato. so do not stop dovato... without talking to your doctor. serious side effects can occur, including allergic reactions,... liver problems, and liver failure. life-threatening side effects include lactic acid buildup and severe liver problems. if you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction,... stop taking dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems,... including hepatitis b or c. one of the ingredients in dovato may harm your... unborn baby. your doctor may prescribe a different medicine... than dovato. your doctor should do a pregnancy test... before starting... dovato. use effective birth control... while taking dovato. the most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, nausea, trouble sleeping, and tiredness. so much goes into who i am... and hope to be. ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment with dovato
4:38 am
is right for you. today early voting kicks off in nevada ahead of the state's caucuses next saturday. this morning, several 2020 democratic presidential candidates are campaigning across the state trying to woo voters. >> now, the nevada democratic party is also trying to calm some worried people and avoid the vote-reporting chaos this we saw in iowa. remember that? the state scrapped plans to use the same app that caused all those issues there, and the party says it worked with google and the department of homeland security to create a caucus calculator. >> dnc chairman tom perez last
4:39 am
night. >> the democratic party i have great confidence in. our team is out there, as well. they're not going to be using an app. let me be clear. the app that was in place in iowa, they're not using it. our goal is to have a dhaux is as low -- caucus that is as low-tech as possible while preserving efficiency. what does that mean? tomorrow when early voting starts, people are going to use a paper ballot. and they'll use paper ballots for the next four days. in the meantime, one of the lessons we take from iowa is that we need to be talking ini relentlessly with our volunteers day in and day out. they had to make adjustments after iowa. the good news is they always had a back up plan. they're not starting from scratch by any stretch. >> the millennial generation has
4:40 am
a big role to play in the 2020 race. mother nature so -- more so than ever before. in 2013 the census countered 83.1 million millennials in the u.s. they're already changing politics. consider this, 26 millennials from both parties are serving in congress. former moayor pete buttigieg isa millennial, tulsi gabbard is, as well. a progressive youth quake is coming. national correspondent for "time" and author of "the ones we've been waiting for: how a new generation of leaders will transform america," coming out tuesday. charlotte alter, thanks for being with us today. >> thank you so much for having me. >> after the last couple of cycles, millennials and baby-boomers in their, you know, late '50s, '60s, early '70s as a share of eligible voters they've gotten closer and closer. in 2020, they're going to be about the same. somewhere around 28%. how does that change campaigning, how does that change the parties?
4:41 am
>> so i think that what we're looking at here is essentially a battle of the generationings. and you can see -- generations. and you can see that in, for example, the massive youth support for bernie sanders even though many baby-boomers can't seem to figure out why so many young people love this 78-year-old socialist. you can see that in the unlikely surge of the candidacy of pete buttigieg who you mention sudden one of two millennials running this cycle. and you also see that in the way the campaigns are trying to reach voters. for example, this week it was reported that michael bloomberg has been investing millions in digital advertising on social media, hiring influencers to try to post memes on behalf of his campaign. that is an effort to reach millennial and gen-z voters, a recognition of how important this generation is going to be politically for this year. >> you said that there are a lot of people who can't understand why millennials are voting for the 78-year-old democratic
4:42 am
socialist. the polls show that he's got north of 50% of 18 to 34, just off of the millennial generation. did your research answer that question? >> yeah. you know, i did -- i did look into that. it's actually a very significant part of the book. basically what it boils down to is that the formative experiences of this generation are significantly different than their parents. they grew up during the financial crisis, they were burdened with massive student debt. they didn't have the experience of terror of the cold war and fear of communism and socialism that their parents did. the oldest millennials were 8 years old when the berlin wall fell. they don't really have the same kind of context around socialism that many of their parents do. when they think of socialism, they think of economies in northern europe where everyone gets free health care and free childcare, they think to themselves, hey, that sounds pretty good. so a lot of the sort of scary buzzwords that older people
4:43 am
sometimes use around bernie sanders don't seem to land with the younger generation who's really more concerned with creeping capitalism than creeping socialism. >> you say that there is a youth-quake coming. if we look at the 2016 numbers, they really didn't show up at the polls at the same rate as other age groups. just north of 60% here. actually just north of 50% when you have 60% and 70% for the older groups. why is that, and why would we expect something different this time around? >> so younger voters always vote at lower rates than older voters do. and there have been a couple of exceptions. for example, barack obama's 2008 campaign mobilized young voters to an unprecedented degree. in the recent midterm elections we saw young voters almost double their voter turnout from the previous midterms. when young voters are engaged, they absolutely do show up.
4:44 am
and that margin can be the difference between a democrat winning and losing. again, this generation leans toward democrats by roughly 2-1. >> yeah. >> if the democrats nominate someone who doesn't mobilize this younger generation, who doesn't seem to speak to the issues that they care about, they really risk leaving a lot of votes on the table. >> which is interesting. we've got to wrap it here. guys, if we could put up full screen to show here that when she talks about a candidate who speaks to their issues, 68% of the youngest group polled by quinnipiac this week, look at what's important to them -- shares views. that's what they prefer. go to the other end, 65 and older, it's an inverse. 68% of that group cares most about who's most electable. and as you go through the age groups, you can see there's a correlation between age and if it's more -- if the person's more electable or if that candidate shares their views. charlotte alter, the book is "the ones we've been waiting
4:45 am
for: how a new generation of leaders will transform america." it comes out tuesday. thank you so much for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> great conversation. justice in jeopardy? attorney general bill barr under scrutiny after appearing to take charge of the president's associates. a history professor says trump is not the first to put his thumb on the scales of justice. first, cnn looks at some of the most hard-fought presidential races with its original series "race for the white house." the latest looks at the 2008 race. freshman senator barack obama goes up against republican senator john mccain. watch. >> john knew the campaign wasn't working. he was either going to get out of the campaign and -- and cut his losses, or he was going to have to change the campaign dramatically. so john mccain did a typical john mccain move, in orders to
4:46 am
get relaxation and clear his mind, he went to a battle zone. he went to iraq. >> in baghdad on the 4th of july surrounded by the military he so admir admires, john mccain attendses a re-enlist and naturalization ceremony. >> when he got to ceremony, he saw boots of the guys that were going to be made naturalized citizens there. they had been killed in action, and that got to him. >> john came back and told us this story, and he was very emotional. and he said, i looked at that and realized i need to fight as much for my country as they are. >> wow. cnn original series "race for the white house" airs sunday at 9:00 only on. -- only on cnn. hing special for valentine's day. okay. ♪ even if she says she doesn't need a thing ♪ ♪ show her you care, make her heart sing ♪
4:47 am
make this valentine's day mean more. ♪ jared.
4:48 am
♪ ♪
4:49 am
don't just plan to retire. plan to live. an annuity helps cover your essential monthly expenses, so you're free to live the life you want. find out how an annuity can give you lifetime income at protectedincome.org
4:50 am
4:51 am
attorney general bill barr is facing strong criticism for injecting himself into criminal cases involving the president's supporters. this week, the justice department backed away from recommending a stiff prison sentence for longtime trump associate roger stone. i spoke with steven mihm, an associate professor of history at the university of georgia, and he says trump is hardly the first president to attempt to manipulate the justice department. >> well, it's more or less comparable in many ways to previous presidents' transgressions. people like richard nixon, for example, leaned on his attorney general to meddle in criminal investigations. most famously, ultimately connected to watergate. but he's not the only one, it goes all the way back to woodrow wilson who deliberately hired someone in a position that he felt he could trust to take his side in legal disputes. so this is not an entirely new
4:52 am
phenomenon by any stretch. >> so, the justice department is under the executive branch. and you will hear allies of president trump say, look, the president has every right to intervene in legal cases such as his friend's roger stone's case. historically speaking, the justice department, as you point out, is basically the arm of the president. but you call it historical accident that shouldn't have been the case? >> that's right. so when the attorney general's position was created, at the very beginning of the country's existence there was no doj. there was no department of justice to go along with that position. it was just a stand alone guy who was, frankly, was pretty powerless. in the 19th century, had was powerless and in the 20th,
4:53 am
that's when this became a play thing of the executive branch. and in the 20th century, different presidents, depending on their ethics, i guess, is what it really boils down to in some cases started to abuse the fact that the doj was under their direct control. >> i want to show you the president's tweet from monday night. where you have the president, you know, weighing in publicly, tweeting this about the prosecutor's recommendation of a seven to nine-year sentence for roger stone. some had said it's quite harsh, but if you look at the sentencing guidelines, it looks like it's in line with the federal sentencing guidelines. you have the president tweeting this is a very horrible and unfair situation. is it unusual, though, that you have a u.s. president weighing in, from modern presidents if look back? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> okay. >> so, really the high point of bad behavior on the part of presidents was nixon. and after nixon in the '70s and
4:54 am
'80s there was a lot of talk making the doj completely autonomous and independent of the president for precisely this reason. for good or for ill, though, the presidents that followed nixon, observed an unwritten rule that they shouldn't, for the most part, behave the way that the president is now behaving. and that's really the fundamental problem here. it's not that trump is violating a law, it's that he's exploiting as he oftentimes does, unwritten rules that are not really anything more than custom. and he's now violating this particular custom. >> stephen mihm there. the ukrainian president zelensky said he's ready for a meeting with president trump. >> we'll hear more from our christiane amanpour in the next hour after the break.
4:55 am
repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. from the day you're born we never stop taking care of you.
4:56 am
when in your gut,dent you feel confident to take on anything. with benefiber, you'll feel the power of gut health confidence every day. benefiber is a 100% natural prebiotic fiber. good morning mrs. johnson. benefiber. trust your gut.
4:57 am
4:58 am
4:59 am
5:00 am
i'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody. >> what the attorney general is really saying i'm going to do exactly what trump wants. i just wish he wouldn't tweet about it. >> justice department announced friday it won't bring criminal charges against mccabe. >> we are guilty of doing our jobs and nothing else. >> mccabe, certainly, what he's done is just despicable. >> attorney general william barr has privately called on

114 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on