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NEW DAY

Wreckage of Missing U.S. Helicopter Found in Nepal; Who Are the Missing U.S. Marines?; Train Accelerated Going into Fatal Curve; Eight Victims in Amtrak Train Crash Identified; Boehner Erupts Over Amtrak Funding Question; Blue Legend B.B. King, 89, Dies. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 15, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man responsible for driving the train.

[05:58:36] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: He's now saying he can't remember what happened in this crash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That train accelerated from 70 miles an hour to 100 miles an hour in less than a minute's time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is way beyond what any, any train can be doing at any time.

CUOMO: There are safety systems that could be in place that aren't.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are a growing country with a growing economy. We need to invest in the infrastructure that keeps us that way.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Obviously, it's not about funding. The train was going twice the speed limit.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Blunders for possible presidential candidate Jeb Bush.

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: I'm running for president in 2016, if I run.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Would you have authorized the invasion.

BUSH: I would have, and so would have Hillary Clinton.

If we're all supposed to answer hypothetical questions, I would not have gone into Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Friday, May 15, 6 a.m. in the east. Alisyn's off. Mick and I are here for you. And we do have breaking news this morning. The U.S. military helicopter that went missing in Nepal while

delivering aid to earthquake survivors, it's finally been found.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: We have received word that, amid the burned wreckage, three bodies have been found. Six U.S. Marines were aboard that doomed chopper Tuesday when it crashed. We begin our coverage with CNN's Will Ripley, who's live in Kathmandu with the breaking details for us.

Will, what a sad find.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, absolutely. We're learning that this -- the wreckage of this U.S. Marine helicopter was found about 21 miles east of the Nepali army command center where I am right now.

[06:00:02] This is a very remote mountainous area, and it's an area where more than 3,000 people have died in the two powerful earthquakes that have rocked Nepal in just the last two and a half weeks or so.

Just very much a tragic news for the searchers who've been taking off from here, searchers from three different countries who have been trying to locate this helicopter. They had hoped that perhaps it made a hard landing after reporting a fuel problem during a humanitarian aid mission. They hoped that perhaps the crew members were alive and just in an area where they couldn't communicate.

But this morning the very, very sad discovery that, in fact, there is wreckage. There are three burned bodies. And the condition of the helicopter is not good.

There are crews on the ground right now on that mountainside. It's 11,200 feet elevation. Very, very difficult area. But they're searching right now to try to figure out what happened to the other five people onboard who have not yet been located -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Will, thanks for staying on it.

And we do want to know more about the U.S. Marines who were aboard the missing helicopter. And here's what we understand at this point. Let's bring in CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

What can you tell us?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

This was a Marine Corps unit out of Camp Pendleton in California near San Diego, of course. They had deployed to Japan for a six-month tour when this crisis in Nepal erupted with the earthquakes, and had been sent there to help.

Our understanding from the Pentagon, when they went down they were on a relief mission delivering tarps and rice to a hard-hit village. And at that point some other villagers came up to them and said, "Wait a minute. There's another village that needs help." They got back in their helicopter, and they went off to the second village and were trying to get there to help those people, as well, when this happened.

A couple of days ago, the father of pilot Chris Norgren, the pilot onboard before the wreckage was found, spoke to reporters. Have a listen to what this father had to say about his son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD NORGEN, FATHER OF CHRIS NORGREN: He's a great guy with a lot of passion. Always had a lot of passion in everything he'd done. He was doing everything he loved most, and that was being a pilot for the Marines.

I'll just say a prayer real quick to hope that everything's OK. So it's hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now six American military families, of course six Marine Corps families being notified of the news. The Pentagon had stayed in very close touch with them throughout these last several days, keeping them updated on the search.

There had been a great deal of hope, as Will said, that everyone would be found safe. That they just couldn't communicate, that they were in such a remote area. But now the very, very sad news. And an investigation will begin to try and find out exactly what did happen -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: And Barbara, so hard for those families, considering that they weren't going to a war zone. They were going to do search and rescue. Tremendous sadness for those families, I'm sure. Thank you.

We turn now to startling developments in the Amtrak crash investigation. Officials say that that train accelerated substantially in the final minute as it hurtled toward that fateful curve, going from 70 miles an hour to more than 100 in only a minute.

CNN's transportation and government regulation correspondent Rene Marsh has the very latest for us live in Philadelphia. That's an extreme speed-up.

RENE MARSH, CNN TRANSPORTATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it absolutely is. And you know, investigators also found that at this point they are no anomalies as it relates to the tracks or even the signals.

But as you mentioned, this train, according to this new data from the train's video cameras, instead of slowing down, it was speeding up as it was approaching this curve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): Overnight, crews continue to remove the seven cars one by one from the deadly crash site, as the NTSB is eager to interview 32-year-old Brandon Bostian, the engineer at the controls of ill-fated Amtrak Train 188. ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: We're very excited that we -- that

he's agreed to talk to us. We plan to do it in the next few days.

STEFANIE MCGEE, FRIEND OF BRANDON BOSTIAN: He's a sweet guy. He's a good -- he's a good, decent person.

MARSH: Friends of the engineer speaking out, saying he would never do anything with negligent intent.

MCGEE: Just knowing how much he loves this job and how much it means to him and to have this happen has just got to be devastating.

MARSH: According to Bostian's attorney, the five-year veteran engineer did not have a pre-existing medical condition, was not impaired by alcohol or drugs, and his cell phone was off, as required by Amtrak.

SUMWALT: The train should not have even been going anything other than 50 miles an hour going into the curve.

MARSH: This as the NTSB says, according to their initial investigation, the train bizarrely accelerated from around 70 miles per hour to 100 in under a minute just before reaching the sharp turn.

What happens next caught on surveillance camera from a nearby building. Watch as sparks fly at over 100 miles an hour. The deadly speed catapulting seven train cars and the engine off the tracks.

[06:05:07] JOSEPH BOARDMAN, AMTRAK CEO: We will have positive train control on the Northeast Corridor section by December 31.

MARSH: Amtrak's CEO says that safety mechanism to prevent human error will be in place by the congressional mandate. But some say too little too late.

(on camera): Why isn't it done now? Was it an issue of cost? Has it just come down to the bottom line?

BOARDMAN: It's -- no, it's a time issue and also a cost issue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: All right. And back out here live this morning, CNN has also learned an automatic braking system has been in place for years on the opposite side of the tracks to slow trains going southbound, trains from New York to D.C., as it enters that curve.

However, that slowing mechanism is not on the side of the tracks where this accident happened. We asked Amtrak why is that the case? They said because trains on the other side are going way faster as it approaches that curve. Keep in mind, we are not talking about positive train control. It's another less advanced slowing mechanism that is in place.

Back to you guys. CUOMO: All right, Rene, and when you say "some say," one of the

people who were criticizing these lack of upgrades was the engineer driving Train 188. That's an interesting piece to this.

Now, the urgency to find out what happened here is fueled, of course, by what was lost. And we now know the identities of all eight people killed in this terrible crash. So let's get right to CNN's Sunlen Serfaty. She's live in Philadelphia, and she has that information.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, that's right. All eight passengers who were killed aboard that Amtrak train have now been accounted for and identified, including 45-year-old Bob Gildersleeve. He was a father of two from Baltimore, Maryland. His body was found at the crash site Thursday morning, out -- found by a cadaver dog on site.

Also among those killed was 47-year-old Laura Finamore. She's a commercial real estate agent from New York. And Giuseppe Piras, an Italian national. He was visiting the U.S. on business as a wine and oil merchant.

Now, today the first of the funerals of the victims is being held, that of 20-year-old Midshipman Justin Zemser, who was killed also in the crash. He was a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. And his funeral will take place in Long Island later this morning.

Now, we're here, Michaela, outside of Temple University Hospital where six victims still remain in critical condition -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: So important, while some of this blame game goes on, to remember those victims, those families that are mourning the loss of their loved ones. Sunlen, thank you for that look.

So less than 24 hours after the deadly derailment, a Republican-led House committee voted to slash a quarter of a billion dollars from Amtrak's budget. Some Democrats are suggesting those kind of cuts caused the Philadelphia crash. Don't tell that, though, to House Speaker John Boehner.

For that we turn to senior White -- Washington correspondent Joe Johns. He got heated.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, the speaker of the House reacting angrily to reporters' questions about attempts to link reduced funding for Amtrak to the crash in Philadelphia.

The question came just a day after the House Appropriations Committee voted to reduce funding for the rail system by more than $200 million just a couple days after that crash in Philadelphia. A sensitive political issue now, because Democrats want more funding for Amtrak at a time when Republicans are trying to reduce government spending.

Speaker Boehner taking the position it's too early to make a connection on cause. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BOEHNER: Are you really going to ask such a stupid question? Listen, you know, they started this yesterday. It's all about funding, it's all about funding. Well, obviously it's not about funding. The train was going twice the speed limit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York responding in a statement, saying, "Speaker Boehner's comments are patently false. Experts have made clear positive train control could have prevented the tragedy in Philadelphia."

By the way, "U.S. News" reported overnight the train technology was actually installed on the tracks near the crash site but not working.

President Obama said last night that there is a need for more infrastructure spending, though pointing out that the cause of the accident hasn't been confirmed.

Michaela, back to you.

CUOMO: I'll take it, Joe. And it's always interesting how the theater of what Speaker Boehner did wound up overwhelming the actual issue. So maybe that was a pretty good ploy in the first place.

Let's discuss the actual substance of the issue, though, with John Nichols. He's a writer for "The Nation," and his latest piece says Congress does need to get serious about railroads and infrastructure.

John, thanks for being with us. Let's have you test the case for us. OK? Why isn't Speaker Boehner right that the guy was going 106 miles an hour. He was supposed to be going 50. End of story. That's why this happened. Don't make it about somebody else. What do you say?

JOHN NICHOLS, WRITER, "THE NATION": Well, because it's never that simple, Chris. The fact of the matter is that human error does occur. And we may find that there is a human component to this, but we ought to understand that smart infrastructure investment does a lot of things.

[06:10:15] First and foremost, it helps to guard against and to control against human error. We're learning that, as we talk about the train controls, the safety mechanisms that could be in place, that should be in place.

But beyond that, good infrastructure investment also keeps you up to speed on maintenance and all of the other steps you need to take to ensure that, frankly, if you have too sharp a turn, maybe you address that. Maybe you begin to invest in that area to make sure that the tracks are not so sharp so you can deal with those challenges.

The problem we have in the United States, Chris, is that we're not looking forward on infrastructure investment the way that Europe is, the way that China is. Will the countries we try to compare ourselves to are putting dramatically more money... CUOMO: John, as you make that point let's put up the graphic how the

U.S. compares internationally to the big players in rail. And you look at it right there. In fact, when you go through the listing of it, I think the U.S. Is second to last except to only Turkey in terms of how people are investing in infrastructure and high-speed rail.

And then you have your second layer of pushback, John, which is, you know, the left is making this all about money. Amtrak gets a ton of money. They don't even make a profit. We have to fill it in with taxes. The government had to take over this company. And the cuts that were just made to the budgeting things, which were a bipartisan agreement to cut agency spending, don't affect the part of the budget that goes to doing infrastructure things like positive train control. So stop complaining about it and making money something that it isn't. You say?

NICHOLS: I'm going to complain. I think we should complain about it. The fact is that the American society of civil engineers and other groups continue to give the United States exceptionally low grades as regards infrastructure investment and simple planning in this regard.

CUOMO: But is it just how much, John, or is it also how well? How much of this is mismanagement? How much of this, like what we see with this particular instance, where you have the engineer complaining about not having the right controls and making them drive unreasonable shifts.

But you had the train control on one side and not the other side. They're about to run past their deadline. They're asking for an extension. How much of this is about poor management of those resources and poor accountability for what decisions are made and not made?

NICHOLS: Well, those are great questions, Chris. And the place to begin is with Congress. The fact of the matter is we have a Congress that tends to answer questions about infrastructure and particularly about Amtrak by saying, "We're going to give you less or we're going to cut it. We want to make it as tight as possible."

When you're in a game of constantly controlling the resources to such an extent that entities, not just Amtrak, but local transportation, and this also includes roads, bridges, all sorts of other things. When you're making the tough choices and at the end of the day you are addressing only the crisis or the most severe circumstance, you're not beginning to do the planning and the forward thinking that is necessary in a circumstance like this.

China is spending well over $100 billion in investments in their high- speed rail and rail infrastructure. The United States is at barely 100th of that. So we have -- we just have huge amounts of ground to make up.

CUOMO: So bottom line, you believe that this -- using this instance as an example of the bigger problem is fair? This isn't a bad example of bad infrastructure, because it was all about him speeding? NICHOLS: I think that, if we invest in infrastructure, we begin to

control for all sorts of problems, including human error. We're going to learn a lot more about what happened here.

And I think we have to be careful. We shouldn't get into a game of saying it's either/or. What we ought to understand is if we take infrastructure seriously, we begin to expand not just safety to make things more safe. We also begin to think about what can happen for a country that makes a real commitment to rail, to bridges, to roads. Generally that's associated with a stronger economy, more resources and frankly at the end of the day then more ability to concentrate on infrastructure.

CUOMO: John Nichols, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Can't argue with the facts. There are nine of these with Amtrak this year. It's much higher than the average and that must mean something -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Chris.

The ISIS top commander is alive and well, says the terrorists. They released a new audio tape to prove it. The terror group claims the 34-minute recording was made by its leader, Abu al-Baghdadi. The voice on the tape calls on Muslims around the world to join ISIS or carry out attacks where they live. There have been several recent reports suggesting the terror leader suffered shrapnel wounds and spinal injuries during coalition airstrikes in Iraq.

CUOMO: The FBI arresting an Iraqi-born American citizen in Texas, accused of pledging allegiance to ISIS, the Justice Department charging 37-year-old Bilal Abood with lying to the FBI about his travels. They allege he went to Syria to fight ISIS terrorists -- or fight with them. Then he returned to the U.S. They also say he tweeted about his support of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last year.

PEREIRA: Sad news breaking overnight you're waking up to the legendary King of the blues, B.B. King, has died at 89 years of age. King was one of the world's greatest guitar players; had such a distinctive voice. He influenced generations of musicians. Want to give you a look back at this storied life and incredible career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (voice-over): It is hard to imagine the blues without B.B. King. The legendary blues man released over 50 albums with hit songs as "The Thrill is Gone" and "Let the Good Times Roll."

Born Riley B. King in Mississippi, he worked as a tractor driver in the cotton fields before embarking on his musical career. He began recording in the 1940s and became known as Blues Boy King, and then more simply B.B. King.

In 1956, at the height of his popularity, he played an astonishing 342 one-night shows.

B.B. KING, MUSICIAN (singing): Whole lot of loving waiting for you

PEREIRA: He continued a rigorous touring schedule into his 80s. King's persistence and passion for the blues paid off, winning 15 Grammys.

KING: It always feels very, very good to go on stage, whether you win a Grammy or not.

PEREIRA: Throughout the years King worked with various artists like U-2 on the song "When Loves Comes to Town" and with Eric Clapton on the album "Riding with the King."

In 1987 he was inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. He was also given a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990.

He was rarely seen without his faithful black Gibson guitar, Lucille.

KING: This is my girl, Lucille.

PEREIRA: The gifted guitarist became the first blues musician to be honored with the Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. President George W. Bush also honored King in 2006 with a presidential Medal of Freedom for his musical contributions.

KING (singing): Been around a long time, a long, long time.

PEREIRA: King's health was often a concern since he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in his early 60s.

KING: To me blues is a type of music that's like a tonic. It's good for whatever ails you.

PEREIRA: In 2012 President Obama hosted a concert celebrating blues music. B.B. King was one of the featured performers.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The King of the blues, Mr. B.B. King.

KING (singing): You only live once, and when you're dead you're done. Let the good times roll. Let the good times roll. I don't care if you're young or old, hey everybody...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Saying you only live once, boy, did he live. He did everything in a big way. Showing you a live look here outside of B.B. King's club in Times Square where the lights have been dimmed on the marquee. I'm sure a sight we will see repeated at the clubs around the country.

Chris, the thing I admired the most about him, aside from just the way he lived large, he said that blues purists criticized him for not being a purist. But he said, he insisted that he played for the people, which I just love that.

CUOMO: Yes. And I like that he's one of these great treasures that we have that was aware and honored, you know, while he could appreciate it. Because sometimes it happens after they're gone.

PEREIRA: He got to be appreciated and lived to see it. Incredible.

CUOMO: The world is, you know -- it's a little different, though, without him in it.

PEREIRA: We'll play a little of his music around here today.

CUOMO: Good. Good, I like it.

All right. Different type of blues, that's what Jeb Bush is dealing with.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CUOMO: He has an about face now. He said he agreed with his brother's decision to invade Iraq. He said, "Well, hold on. Let me get this right here. Now he's saying it's not really what he meant to say. The damage already done? Or is it an unfair standard?

PEREIRA: And another case of the blues, another network news anchor in some hot water. ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is apologizing for not disclosing $75,000 in donations to the Clinton Foundation. Should this disqualify him from covering the 2016 campaign? Oh, you know we will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: If we're all supposed to answer hypothetical questions, knowing what we know now what would you have done, I would have not engaged, I would not have gone into Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was potential presidential candidate Jeb Bush trying to end once and for all this week, a week of controversy over his comments on whether or not he would have invaded Iraq back in 2013. Critics say he should have been prepared to answer that question with a last name like Bush.

Let's put the question to our CNN political commentators on this Friday. We have Democratic strategist Paul Begala, co-chair of a pro- Hillary Clinton super PAC. Republican strategist Kevin Madden is also here. I feel like I'm reading a line-up of an all-star game here.

Gentlemen, happy Friday to you both. Kevin, I'll start with you. As I was just saying, if you've got the last name Bush, you've got to expect that that question is coming. I'm just curious in your thoughts how much damage he has done to a potential run here.

KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, look, I think he hasn't even announced yet, so I think he's got a lot of time.

I think one of the big problems that I would worry about is if the campaign didn't recognize that they had a problem and didn't try and fix it. And I think that's what the attempt was yesterday.

But it does show you that one of the big problems that he's going to have -- it's going to be a recurring challenge here -- is breaking out of a re-litigation of one Bush administration, the past Bush administration of his brother, when what he really wants to do is talk about a future Bush administration, what he would do for the country on a whole range of issues, national security being one of them.

So I think that is what he has to do right now. He has to make a big pivot to talk more about what he would do in the future, rather than being stuck in this place right now where he's re-litigating the past.

CUOMO: So, Paul, look, the criticism is obvious. He's not handling this well. And that's just objectively true. How much of it is unfair, though, because he is President Bush's brother? You know, everybody would say with the benefit of hindsight, "Yes, we would have done things differently." But when he says it's a story because he's going against his family, is that a fair standard?

[06:25:06] PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, he gets unfair advantages. He's leading in the fundraising in large measure because his father and his brother were terrific fundraisers and popular guys among Republicans. And there are some disadvantages, perhaps unfair.

But on this one, here's the problem. Any gaffe -- here's how I analyze. Does this feed a negative master narrative?

So remember when Barack Obama said all those middle-class people in Pennsylvania cling to their Bibles and their guns? Boy, did that hurt. Because it fed a master narrative that perhaps he was a Harvard elitist, out of touch with working-class people.

This could really hurt Jeb, because the negative narrative on him is, from both Republicans and Democrats, he's just another Bush. He's another George W. I have a column on CNN.com now, an opinion column already calling him "Jeb W. Bush." He's going to be wrapped around the axel of his brother's presidency, and he's going to -- he's going to have to find a better way to deal with it.

(CROSSTALK)

MADDEN: I was just going to say, to Paul's point real quick, it's not just detractors of Bush that got excited about this and saw an opportunity. I think it's supporters worry that this is a question they should have been prepared for that he wasn't.

PEREIRA: Right.

MADDEN: And I think that makes a lot of folks that -- that want to help him in this campaign concerned.

PEREIRA: Yes. And it is a concerning thing for many, as you mention. Here's a thought, though, Kevin or Paul, depending on who wants to answer. It is that there is another Bush in that legacy.

You know, if he was smart, he could reframe the narrative to sort of talk about, you know, the different, kinder, gentler GOP that was around when his father was the president, instead of sort of looking at more recent history.

MADDEN: Yes. I'll take that real quick. When he first started to get into the exploratory phase of his campaign, he actually gave a speech where he said, "I'm my own man." Now, it's one thing to say it. It is another thing to show it.

And I think a lot of voters out there who are open to a Bush presidency, who want to hear more about this before they make up their mind, they want to see more of that. They want to hear, like, "How are you different? What would you do differently in the future? How can you distinguish yourself from past Bush presidencies?"

And this is going to make what is, I think -- what was already expected to be a difficult job more difficult. But he's got a smart team behind him. He has a lot of time. It's still -- it's still not over.

PEREIRA: Hey, guys, we want to pivot to one thing real quick, if you don't mind, because it's obviously making a whole lot of news. And I feel like, Paul, you might have a few things to say about this.

George Stephanopoulos, obviously you guys have read the headline: $75,000 donation to the CGI, the Clinton Global Initiative. What are your thoughts? First blush waking up seeing this, what went through your mind?

BEGALA: Well, I have to say -- you know, my disclosure: George is a dear friend of mine -- it was a mistake. It's also...

PEREIRA: He should have known better?

BEGALA: Well, of course. And because of the name Clinton at the head of the foundation, it is a foundation. People need to understand we're reporting it accurately, and I'm glad about that. It is -- it is a charity. It's a foundation. It's not a political campaign. And yet, because of the Clinton name.

I'm quite sure -- I've not talked to George about it, but I'm quite sure he just wanted to help people with AIDS in Africa, which is what the foundation does. But because of that name...

PEREIRA: Aren't there other ways to do that?

BEGALA: Of course there are. Yes. Even though I love the guy, I think it was a mistake. And I think he's apologized; he's cleaning it up as best he can.

CUOMO: Paul -- not Paul. I heard enough from you.

Kevin. The -- the idea that this somehow with George feeds the Clinton cash narrative, though, connect the dots for me on that. George is a big deal, but last time I checked, he's not a foreign country. Why does it feed that narrative? MADDEN: Well, look, disclosure, too, I've worked with George for a

long time. I actually always found him fair. I found him fair. I think the narrative that this feeds into is so many Republicans believe that the media is biased against them and that there's an alignment between this left-wing media and the Clintons.

CUOMO: But there's no news in George being close to the Clintons. That's not news. His giving $75,000 doesn't introduce a new idea, does it?

MADDEN: Right.

CUOMO: What's new here?

MADDEN: Well, what happens is that this that oftentimes, the media and folks in the media are a broker of information about the Clintons. And what we think are some of their past congressions [SIC]. And it does bring to question in many Republicans' minds whether or not they can be fair brokers of that type of information so that voters can make up the minds for themselves.

PEREIRA: All right gentlemen. Thanks so much for joining us on this Friday. Thanks for pivoting on both of those topics.

BEGALA: Thanks.

MADDEN: Great to be with you.

PEREIRA: Kevin, Paul, have a good weekend.

CUOMO: We're going to take a look here at what's going on in North Korea. There are reports -- you've probably heard them now -- that Kim Jong-un had his defense secretary executed because he fell asleep at a meeting. And that he did it using heavy artillery. Was he really killed or was this some kind of purging? Was this some kind of hype story? If it's true, does this show that this man is losing control of his country?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)