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CNN NEWSROOM

Donald Trump Disinvited from Conservative Event after Controversial Comments about FOX News Anchor; Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Nick Gordon Regarding Death of Bobbi Kristina Brown; Senator Chuck Schumer Announces He Will Not Vote for Iran Nuclear Deal. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 8, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


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[14:01:08] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, happening right now in the NEWSROOM.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

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WHITFIELD: Trump dumped. He has been disinvited from a conservative event being held tonight in Atlanta. The leader of RedState.com saying Trump's latest comments on CNN crossed the line.

Plus, stunning new allegations in the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown. A lawsuit accusing her boyfriend Nick Gordon of knocking her down with a toxic cocktale and putting her face down in a bathtub.

You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

Hello again, and thank you for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Donald Trump in the hot seat again, getting dumped from a conservative political gathering in Atlanta from what he told our Don Lemon when asked about his comments directed at FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly.

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TRUMP: I just don't respect her as a journalist. I have no respect for her. I don't think she's very good. I think she is highly overrated. When I came out there, you know, what am I doing. I'm not getting paid for this. I go out there, and they start saying lift up your arm. And, you know, I didn't know there would be 24 million people. I figured -- if I know it was going to be a big crowd, because I get big crowds, I get ratings. They call me the ratings machine.

So I have -- she gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. And you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever, but she was, in my opinion, she was off base. And, by the way, not in my opinion, in the opinion of hundreds of

thousands of people on Twitter because it has been a brutal day, in one way a great day for FOX, in another day in the Twitter-sphere it's been very bad because she's been very badly criticized. She's a lightweight. I couldn't care less about her.

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WHITFIELD: Trump intended to clarify his comments this morning by tweeting, quote, "You could see there was blood coming out of her eye, blood coming out of wherever," and in parentheses, "nose, just got on with thought." Making the decision to disinvite Trump from the event in Atlanta this evening, Erick Erickson the head RedState.com which is hosting the conservative gathering, he spoke out on his side of the story this morning.

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ERICK ERICKSON, ORGANIZER, "REDSTATE GATHERING": I disinvited Donald Trump.

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ERICKSON: Hang on. Just hang on. For those of you who haven't heard, you all deserve an explanation. I'm glad despite some of the comments that the Trump team paid last night, I can honestly say this event was sold out before we even announced he was coming.

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WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring in Mark Preston our executive editor for CNN Politics who is live for us in Atlanta outside of that event. All right, so what's being said? Any second guessing or any rethinking of disinviting Donald Trump, or is Erick Erickson getting a lot of support?

MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Well, I got to tell you what, Fred, if you can see, this is a fast-moving story. Things seem to be changing hour to hour, certainly reaction to Donald Trump being disinvited. I spoke to several folks here. Some were upset that Donald Trump was disinvited, but as we heard just from that sound bite earlier, Erick Erickson overwhelmingly got support for doing so. But Erick Erickson just took the stage a short time ago and he decided to read some of the e-mails he has been getting from Trump supporters. Let's play what he had to say.

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[14:05:00] ERICKSON: "Are you sure you aren't a Democrat?" "You're going to be the next Bruce Jenner."

(LAUGHTER)

ERICKSON: Hey, I don't know that I'll look like that while I'm that well in a dress.

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PRESTON: You have Erick Erickson, I have to tell you, Fred, Erick read many other e-mails that I wouldn't say comfortable with saying on our air from Trump reporters disparaging Erick's decision to disinvite Donald Trump. But not only are we hearing from the Trump supporters. We're starting to hear from Republican presidential candidates, the rivals with Trump for that nomination. We've heard from the likes of Carly Fiorina, George Pataki, and now I also heard from Mike Huckabee. We also heard from Ted Cruz a short time ago. Let's hear what he had to say.

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SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) TEXAS: I also think we're not going to solve the problem, we're not going to defeat the cartel by obsessing over the politics of personality. This is about real challenges facing the American people.

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PRESTON: What's interesting about his comment there, Fredericka, is that he has not been as critical as some of the other rivals for the nomination of Donald Trump. A few weeks ago when Donald Trump was critical of John McCain, saying he was not a war hero because he was a prisoner of war, Ted Cruz was not as critical either. So again, not going as far as we've heard from some of the other candidates. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Mark Preston, thank you so much.

And then we just learned recently that, yes, there is more of Donald Trump coming your way. He will be on "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. live with our Jake Tapper. That will be an interview that promises to deliver on something. Again, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern time live Donald Trump right here on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION." It should be a fascinating conversation with our Jake Tapper. And we'll be right back.

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[14:10:56] WHITFIELD: All right, stunning new allegations in the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown. An amended wrongful death lawsuit now accusing Brown's boyfriend Nick Gordon of giving her a toxic cocktail that knocked her unconscious and then putting her face down in a bathtub. Brown is the only daughter of the late Whitney Houston and singer Bobby Brown, died almost two weeks ago in a hospice months after she was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Georgia home.

Joining us right now from New York is CNN's Sara Ganim. So the suit makes claims of physical abuse as well. And how are these allegations being supported, do we know?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Really disturbing new details to support the allegation of physical abuse in their relationship and also very controlling behavior on the part of Nick Gordon. The lawsuit claimed that he installed cameras and audio recorders so he could watch and listen to Bobbi Kristina and what she was doing when he wasn't home. It also says in the days leading up to the incident, where she was found in the bathtub, that Nick Gordon beat Bobbi Kristina so badly in front of friends that he broke the couch that she was sitting on, also broke a tooth in her mouth, and then dragged her upstairs by her hair, that there was blood found on the walls of the home that they shared together.

Then the incident on January 31st where she was found in the bathtub unresponsive. The lawsuit claims that earlier in the day, at around 6:00 a.m., that Nick Gordon had come home, that he had been on an all- night cocaine bender. They got into another argument. He was upset, and that the allegations in the lawsuit are that he gave her, quote, "a toxic cocktail rendering her unconscious and then put her face-down in a bathtub of cold water, causing her to suffer brain damage."

Now the lawsuit goes on to say she had another broken tooth when she was found unresponsive in that bathtub and that there was also a dustpan at the bottom of that tub. And it says that afterward he got into bed and laid his head on a female guest's ankle and stated, quote, "Now I want a pretty little white girl like you."

Of course, Fred, we know that Bobbi Kristina brown never woke up again after being found unresponsive in that bathtub. Doctors diagnosed her with, quote, "global and irreversible brain damage" and she died about six months later.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, incredibly disturbing allegation. Thank you so much Sara Ganim. We appreciate that.

Let's talk more about the legal implications of this case. Joining me right now is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Phillip Holloway.

All right, so this is a civil action, not a criminal complaint, and it's seeking $10 million. It almost seems premature that you have a civil case before you have a criminal case because we haven't heard anything about any criminal charges or allegations. Is this out of order or is this fairly typical?

PHILLIP HOLLOWAY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Not necessarily. Keep in mind, this happened back in January. So the lawyers who are representing now the estate of Bobbi Kristina have had quite a long time to do perhaps their own independent investigations. They've alleged they have at least some evidence, we don't know what that evidence might be, but they've alleged that they at least have some evidence that he was culpable in her death.

So it's not necessarily premature because there has been several months since the incident occurred and when the lawsuit was filed.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, I guess the burden of proof, all of this is very different in a criminal case versus in a civil complaint. What is likely the pathway here? Would there still have to be a support of evidence, whether it be testimony, eyewitness accounts, or physical evidence in order to be successful in this suit?

HOLLOWAY: Yes, you always have to have enough evidence to meet your burden of proof. And in a civil case, the standard of proof is the preponderance of the evidence, basically if you take the scales of justice and tilt one just slightly more than the other, that would meet the standard of proof. Of course in a criminal case, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required.

[14:15:00] Take, for example, the O. J. Simpson case. He was found fought not guilty in the criminal case, but he was found civilly liable for wrongful death because of the lower burden of proof. So whether it's a criminal case or a civil case, there has to be evidence to support the allegations.

WHITFIELD: OK, and these are very strong and disturbing allegations, and Nick Gordon's attorney has this statement saying "The recent lawsuit against Nick is slanderous and meritless. Nick has been heartbroken and destroyed over the loss of his love, and it's shameful that such baseless allegations have been presented publicly." How does the estate now move forward with its allegations and its suit?

HOLLOWAY: They have to wait for Nick Gordon to file an answer. And he has an attorney in the civil case and they will have to file some type of answer.

WHITFIELD: This statement is not that answer?

HOLLOWAY: That's correct. This statement was from attorneys that would be representing him if there were any criminal charges that might come. But his civil attorney will have to answer the allegations contained in the lawsuit. And from that this case will move forward through the discovery process, potentially depositions, written interrogatories, things of that nature.

WHITFIELD: How long does this typically take?

HOLLOWAY: Years. This could take quite a long time if it ever even proceeds to trial.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phillip Holloway, thanks so much. Always good to see you, appreciate it.

All right, still to come, Congress facing a mid-September deadline to vote on the Iran nuclear deal. This week President Barack Obama learned Senator Chuck Schumer, a key Democrat, will be voting no.

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[14:20:40] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In politics, where message is everything.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm running for president to build an America for tomorrow.

RAND PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Washington machine that gobbles up our freedoms. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The smallest details can give candidates an edge. The picture that greets you on their official website. The background and colors, even the wording. There's techs that solve that problem, and they probably are already catering to you. CNN has learned candidates from Rand Paul to Hillary Clinton are using it.

DAN SIROKER, CO-FOUNDER, OPTIMIZELY: The simply concept of what underlies our platform, which is an experiment. If you go to a website and I go there, we might see different experiences. And then they'll measure which is the most effective.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dan Siroker is a former Google engineer who left the company to run data analytics for Obama's campaign in 2007. He built personalization technology to get people to donate and vote.

SIROKER: So here's an example of an experiment we ran back in 2008. We started with a page that looks like this. It had a media section at the top and a button. We tried four buttons. These are the four we tried. This was the best image. This was the family image with the whole family together in black and white. This was the last image that the traditional political operatives would have picked for the homepage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Siroker says 40 percent more people signed up when they say the combination of this picture and that button. Soroker says it's a game of Moneyball.

SIROKER: Just like the Oakland A's use data to decide who to field and who not to, that's the idea of Moneyball is doing more with less by using data to make better decisions.

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WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama is vacationing on Martha's Vineyard today. The trip comes, and it's a pretty sell this week on a nuclear deal with Iran. Congressional Republicans say they will vote no on the pact. And then now Chuck Schumer, a key Democratic senator, is saying no to the deal. CNN's Michelle Kosinski is traveling with the president and joins us now from Martha's Vineyard. So, Michelle, what's the White House saying about the status of the deal right now?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That Chuck Schumer announcement surprised many. The timing of it especially, is that going to have a lot of influence of other Democrats many of whom are undecided about the deal right. But there is also a way of thinking that if he announced it that way and that far out from the actual congressional vote, doesn't that mean he must have known that he and the White House are very, very confident that they will have enough votes to eventually sustain the veto that President Obama would, he has already said he would do if that vote of disapproval goes through?

So, I mean, that said the White House has expressed confidence of the ultimate sustaining of the veto. They said their reaction to Chuck Schumer's statements was not really surprise.

But I think what rankled both Republicans and Democrats among several things in that speech that President Obama gave last week at America University is when he said that Iranian hardliners were making common cause with the Republican caucus, these hardliners chanting "death to America." So some Republicans said, well, isn't he also referring to Democrats then who are undecided or questioning the deal or some of whom, several now have come out publically opposed to it. Here's what president Obama said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

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BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reason that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who oppose this jumped out and opposed it before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of an ideological commitment not to get a deal done. In that sense, they do have a lot in common with hard liners who are much more satisfied with the status quo.

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KOSINSKI: Plenty of people thought that statement was pretty harsh. But you heard the president there. Far from backing away it from he's now very carefully explaining exactly what he meant and standing by it, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michelle Kosinski, thanks so much, in Martha's Vineyard.

You can see all of Fareed Zakaria's exclusive interview with President Barack Obama this weekend, "FAREED ZAKARA GPS" tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and again 1:00 eastern time.

[14:25:00] And we will be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories, one person was taken to the hospital after a Delta Airlines flight got caught in a nasty hail storm. The plane was headed to Salt Lake City from Boston and was forced to make their emergency landing in Denver. You see in the picture the windshield did suffer some damage there. An airport spokesman said the plane also hit severe turbulence as it passed through the storm.

And the search for clues in the disappearance of MH370 is intensifying around Reunion Island. Crews are now looking for debris by land, air, and sea, but there are conflicting messages about their progress. Malaysian investigators say they have found more debris, although they are not directly linking it to MH370 as yet, while French officials say they haven't received any more relevant objects besides the wing part and a suitcase.

All right, thanks so much for joining me all day. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more straight ahead. "Vital Signs," in fact, with Sanjay Gupta is next.