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Paul Manafort and Rick Gates Still Under House Arrest After Hearing; Leaks Reveal Wilbur Ross Ties to Russia-Linked Firm; Gunman Killed 26, Hurt 20 in Texas Church Massacre; Pastor's Daughter Among Those Killed in Church Shooting; Trump Travels to Japan. Aired 10:30- 11a ET

Aired November 6, 2017 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:30:35] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking news, Paul Manafort and his co-defendant Rick Gates in court this morning just moments ago trying to bargain for some freedom while they are out on bail.

You're looking at images of Rick Gates, a major part of the Trump campaign and transition team for quite a while, just leaving. The judge has made a key decision.

Our Jessica Schneider is outside the courthouse in Washington.

So what did the judge rule in this?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, really it's another defeat for the legal team of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. The judge just minutes ago ruling that they must remain under house arrest with GPS monitoring. Of course both of their lawyers said that they're unsecured bond, $10 million for Paul Manafort, $5 million for Rick Gates, should have been enough to keep them here.

They have argued vigorously over the past week to release the terms of house arrest but the judge saying today she just doesn't have enough information. In particular, there are some financial disputes as to Paul Manafort's net worth. Also to what the value of some of his properties are that he offered up as collateral for that $10 million bond.

He offered up properties in Palm Beach as well as New York City including an apartment in Trump Tower. But the judge saying here she just doesn't have enough information, citing with government prosecutors who say the net worth of Paul Manafort and his properties' worth are just still too unclear at this point.

The government has repeatedly argued that both of these men are flight risks. So the judge saying this morning that they will stay under house arrest but she did add a caveat saying that she will reconsider at the next court date, which will be December 11th. She said once they give a little bit more information, clarify their financial dealings, she said it is a possibility she could release these men under GPS monitoring but a caveat to that would be that they would have to stay away from airports and train stations because the government does still believe, Poppy, that both of these men are flight risks.

Of course their attorneys pushing back on this, but the next court date will be December 11th. For now both of these men still under house arrest -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Until then at least.

Jessica Schneider outside the courthouse, thank you for that breaking news.

Meantime this morning it is across the front page above the fold in just about every newspaper there is this morning. A member of the Trump administration, though, is fighting back after these leaked documents show financial ties from one of the key members of the president's Cabinet to a company that has a link to Vladimir Putin's family.

This is coming from the so-called "Paradise Papers." It's revealed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Thirteen million plus documents over 70 years leaked by a Bermuda law firm.

Our Cristina Alesci is here who reports on the intersection of politics and money and this is at the heart of it.

So let's go through this. It's really complicated. Let's go through all the points here. One of the key points everyone is seeing Wilbur Ross, the Commerce secretary, at the front of all of this. Why?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Because these paper make a direct link between one of the companies that Wilbur Ross has a stake in called Navigator, it's a shipping company, and Russian elites.

Look, we knew that Wilbur Ross owned a stake in this shipping company. We didn't know that one of the main customers of the shipping company are Russian elites including Putin's son-in-law is behind one of the customers. So here we have an administration that is being investigated for all of its ties to Russia.

HARLOW: Right.

ALESCI: And election meddling and at the same time we have high-level administration officials who did not, you know, disclose these relationships with Russians.

Now they weren't required to on their financial disclosure documents.

HARLOW: Right.

ALESCI: But lawmakers are arguing in the Senate confirmation process when they were asked about their financial holdings, when they were questioned about why they were holding on to certain assets, they should have been --

HARLOW: Yes. More forthcoming.

ALESCI: Wilbur Ross should have gone above and beyond given the backdrop.

HARLOW: So what is he saying this morning to defend all of it?

ALESCI: He's saying what we would typically -- you know, we typically expect in this case, hey, it's all over in my financial disclosure form and if you go through it you'll see that there are parent companies that hold this company called Navigator and it is all over his financial disclosure form. But again that misses the story. The story here is that the secretary is financially profiting from a relationship with Russian elites.

HARLOW: It's interesting that he didn't choose to divest -- he divested some 80 companies. He was actually praised for it by Democrats, Senator Richard Blumenthal, in the confirmation hearing. And then Blumenthal goes on to say, you did it to avoid any conflict of interest, correct, and he says, that's correct, and that's where people are saying he could have jumped in.

[10:35:04] ALESCI: He could have jumped in and been more upfront about it. Absolutely. And to your point ethics officials knew about his stake in this company.

HARLOW: Right.

ALESCI: Right? And they allowed him to keep it. It's just that there's a problem with disclosure in our country and the way it works. It doesn't drill down far enough for you to know who's behind these.

HARLOW: There's also a second big headline from these papers, and that is a big, big investor, rich investor in Russia who has poured a lot of money, some Kremlin money into Facebook and Twitter, and some connection to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law.

ALESCI: So you're talking about Yuri Milner.

HARLOW: Yes.

ALESCI: He was involved in both of those deals in terms of the investment in Facebook and Twitter, and separately, he also invested in one of Jared Kushner's companies called Cadre. It's a tech investment company, it's real estate related, and again here giving more ammunition to lawmakers who said given the backdrop of all of these investigates, hey, you guys should have been more upfront with your disclosures and your financial -- and your financial dealings with possible Russian actors and that's a problem -- Poppy.

HARLOW: And his response this morning is nothing to see here, nothing more than business?

ALESCI: Exactly.

HARLOW: Thank you. We appreciate it. Much more to come from these papers. This is the beginning of what's going to be a weeklong disclosure.

Joining us now, CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein, CNN political analyst Amy Parnes.

Nice to have you both here.

So, Ron, let me just begin with you, Democrats, Senator Blumenthal, they're crying foul this morning. They're saying you're not releasing -- you weren't forthcoming with us, sir, Wilbur Ross, in your confirmation hearings. Big picture, how do you see this for the administration?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The big picture is just it is astonishing not only how many administration officials have contact in one way or another with Russian interests, but how often that contact is not disclosed. I mean, it has just been a remarkable pattern. We're just done with the --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But this was disclosure, Ron. I mean, that's the thing.

BROWNSTEIN: But no, no -- the depth of the -- the depth of the relationship.

HARLOW: OK.

BROWNSTEIN: That he had the opportunity to clarify was not. And I'm saying we just -- you know, we're just days past the question which I don't think is by any means done of whether Jeff Sessions, you know, misled or actively lied to the committee, the Judiciary Committee, about not being aware of any campaign officials who had contacts with Russia which was contravened by the Papadopoulos guilty plea.

So, I mean it really -- Poppy, I think what, you know, the big question is, not only why there are so many contacts of so many different sources, "The Washington Post," for example, is, you know, chronicling all the different campaign contacts and all the business contacts, but why so persistently officials have not fully disclosed and kind of shined a light on them from the beginning.

HARLOW: Amy, one thing that I think complicates the narrative here for the administration, every time something like this drops, is that this is the sort of self-proclaimed drain the swamp administration. This makes that argument harder.

AMY PARNES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Exactly. And he's had other problems with other administration officials, as Ron said. You know, nine people are being investigated with links to Russia. And I think this is another drip in the ocean of water that's coming and it is problematic because every day President Trump is trying to, you know, move forward with his agenda, he is and the White House has this looming cloud over it and they can't get rid of it.

HARLOW: But, Amy, let me -- I mean, just listen to how Wilbur Ross responded this morning, he did the CNBC interview in London. He was asked a lot about it, I thought his last answer was the most telling as he pointed to the media, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILBUR ROSS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: There's nothing wrong with it at all. I think it's just an example of the press trying to find anything they can, however remote or silly, to attack the president and somehow link him to Russia. This is nonsense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Nonsense? All about the media, Amy?

PARNES: No. I think, you know, if anything, they should have been crossing their T's and dotting their I's here. Everything connected to Russia is a story here and I think, you know, with just reason I think because everything -- you know, the campaign has been showing links, there is an FBI investigation right now, I mean, everything is related to this. And I think they had to be very careful going into this knowing that Russia was such a big storyline.

HARLOW: Ron, to you, switching gears completely here to the horrifying massacre at that church in Texas, less than 24 hours ago, the president responding to it while on the trip in Asia. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that mental health is the problem here. This was a very -- based on preliminary reports, very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time.

We have a lot of mental health problems in our country as do other countries, but this isn't a guns situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:40:07] HARLOW: Ron, your response on Twitter last night, responding to House Speaker Paul Ryan was the president was quick off the mark with a lot more policy than prayers after the New York City terror attack.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HARLOW: What are your thoughts?

BROWNSTEIN: Right. Well, look, this is the catechism at this point and I think it really is not -- no one should expect any change from the administration really is how voters will react. Whenever there is a mass shooting that involves a white shooter, a native born shooter, the argument is going to be that the issue isn't guns, it's mental health.

On its own terms that doesn't even hold up because the administration's, you know, version of the Affordable Care Act would have eliminated mental health from guaranteed benefits and they're seeking major cuts in Medicaid which funds a large amount of mental health and substance abuse treatment. But leave that aside, that is going to be the argument and then if there is a terror attack that has a -- or a mass killing that has a link to either an immigrant or a Muslim the argument of the perpetrator, the argument will be that it's the immigration laws or terror laws or we need to be smart.

That is what we are going to get. And really the question is as -- is the public willing to accept this kind of routine mass killing as kind of a new normal in American life or will there be any shift in the politics around some of the issues having do both with mental health and access to guns. Because I don't think you're going to get any change from the administration. The mold from the president is very clear and you're going to see these divergent responses based on who is committing the violence.

HARLOW: Ron Brownstein, thank you. Amy Parnes, we appreciate it very much.

John, back to you. It is stunning to consider the fact that three of the deadliest five shootings in modern American history have been in the last 17 months. And you know, I bet yesterday morning you woke up and didn't expect to be where you are this morning covering yet another one.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's horrifying. You know, it's 35 days. It's 35 days since Las Vegas and here we are in Sutherland Springs. But I will say for the people in Sutherland Springs this what is they care about. I mean, they want to know what happened here and how to keep it from happening again.

Poppy, behind me right now law enforcement is setting up for a news conference. We will hear from local law enforcement any minute now on the state of the investigation. And the Red Cross is here to help with what is a humanitarian disaster. A human tragedy right now. The Red Cross on-site to help with that.

Much more ahead from Sutherland Springs. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:46:37] BERMAN: All right. John Berman in Sutherland Springs, Texas, right now. Twenty-six people killed in the First Baptist Church behind me.

We are learning about the victims, the oldest was 72 years old, the youngest just 5 years old. Eight members of one family were killed. The pastor's daughter was also killed. Her family is now speaking.

Alison Kosik joins me now with the very latest on that.

Alison, tell us about Belle Pomeroy.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Yes. The pastor's 14- year-old daughter Annabelle was killed at the church. And you know, I don't know of a 14-year-old who would go to church without her parents on a day, you know, that they're not there. You know, it really says so much about her. So yes, she is the daughter of the church pastor, Frank Pomeroy, and

her mom Sherri. They were out of town yesterday but her mom released this statement to CNN saying, "We lost more than Belle yesterday and the one thing that gives me a sliver of encouragement is the fact that Belle was surrounded by her church family that she loved fiercely. Our church was not comprised of members or parishioners, we were a very close family. We ate together, we laughed together, we cried together, and we worshipped together. Now most of our church family is gone."

Others who were killed in this massacre, the visiting pastor. Also what you mentioned, John, at least eight members of the same family including a woman five months pregnant, her three children, her brother-in-law, and his young child. An additional three members of that same family they were injured in the shooting, one shot in the head.

I want you to listen to a woman who lives across the street from the church. She said she heard gunshots and helped a little girl of that family but she survived. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN CURNOW, SHOOTING WITNESS: The first responder brought her out and she hid -- they brought her to me and they said, you know, immediately after we don't know, you know, can you just hold her for a minute? She had a bump on her head. Was covered in blood. And I just tried to get her calm. And, you know, clean her up. Luckily for this little girl one of her family members was still alive. Did come out. Her aunt was on her way to the church as well, so we were able to kind of stop and accidentally get the family together. But I will never forget those shots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: It's just so heartbreaking. You know, it's amazing that little girl got out because many inside the church were either killed or wounded. We're hearing that 12 to 14 children were inside the church and the Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said seeing the children, that's what hurts the most -- John.

BERMAN: It is so sad. And we did speak to a local pastor from another community who had 14 friends who perished. Fourteen friends who perished inside that church and knew so many of the kids who died as well had been part of that church.

Alison Kosik, our thanks to you.

Twenty-six people killed as we've been saying. As shocking as it sounds it could have been even worse. There were two heroes who helped stopped this. One unidentified man who pulled out his gun before he put his shoes on to confront the killer and started an exchange of fire with him and then there was Johnnie Langendoff, a man I spoke to just a few minutes ago who was driving by in a truck, got the other hero in his truck and then chased the killer down to the next county. Listen to Johnnie describe the other guy, the guy with the gun, who

may have saved dozens of lives. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:50:10] JOHNNIE LANGENDOFF, CHASED TEXAS CHURCH SHOOTING SUSPECT: He's very much a hero. He acted -- he acted quicker than he could think as well. He did absolutely the right thing, which was try and take him down on the scene. You know, from what I know -- you know, from what I know he was just taking a nap and heard the gunshots and reacted.

BERMAN: What kind of gun did he have?

LANGENDOFF: He had an AR-15.

BERMAN: So they both -- both the killer and the individual you drove had AR-15s?

LANGENDOFF: The killer from what I heard --

BERMAN: Had a Ruger.

LANGENDOFF: -- had a pistol during the fire fight.

BERMAN: Right.

LANGENDOFF: Which is the main part that I saw.

BERMAN: And then the guy with you, the other hero, had his own AR-15.

LANGENDOFF: Yes, sir. And he came out, he was barefooted.

BERMAN: He was barefooted.

LANGENDOFF: Yes. Yes. He had no shoes on or nothing. But he was ready to act. And the moment police got there and everything, you know, he did all the right things.

BERMAN: Grabbed his gun before he grabbed his shoes?

LANGENDOFF: Yes.

BERMAN: Which tells you something about the mindset of the other hero involved in this. You said the chase was 12 to 15 minutes long. Going 95, down these -- you know, these country roads, what's going through your head as this was going on?

LANGENDOFF: Not a lot. I like to drive and so if I can get away with driving fast, well, you know, and I had to catch the guy. I had -- I had to make sure that he was caught. And at one point the gentleman riding with me said you may have to use your truck to get him off the road and there was no hesitation. It was do -- you know, do everything necessary to make sure that this guy is stopped.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Johnnie Langendoff told me, I like to drive, I like to drive fast. And yes, he did break the speed limit here but he's not going to get in any kind of trouble for that because his action almost definitely did save lives.

Now behind me you can see they're setting up for a news conference. Local law enforcement will brief reporters about 25 minutes from now. About 11:15 Eastern Time. We're waiting for new information on the investigation. We'll bring that to you live the second it happens. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:56:43] HARLOW: "The era of strategic patience is over," those words from President Trump about North Korea on this trip to Asia. Kim Jong-un's regime a major topic as the president met with japans' prime minister Shinzo Abe.

President Trump urged him to further arm Japan with U.S. weapons in a growing tension with North Korea in the region.

Joining us now from Tokyo is our diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, who is traveling with the president. He's traveling.

Just first, Nic, the reaction on the ground to what the president suggested and whether it was welcomed by Abe?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It was welcomed by Abe. The prime minister has been quite forward leaning in bringing more capability and capacity to Japan's self-defense forces and he was recently re-elected with a strong mandate. So he spoke about buying more aircraft systems from the United States, the F-35, for example. He spoke about buying more naval equipment from the United States and also about more buying more new and better missile interceptor systems.

The Block IIA mark 3 was one of the names that came up. And this is a new missile system. It's being used or will be used in Europe next year for the first time and it's capable of flying further with a greater range, greater -- able to cover a sort of greater part of the sky for incoming missile threats.

So of course Japan has had two North Korean missiles fly over it in the past few months during the North Korean missile test. Those missiles weren't shot down. So potentially this would give Japan that capacity and the prime minister said look, the security situation -- because of North Korea is getting tougher the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region is getting tougher so he did seem to welcome that from President Trump.

HARLOW: One of the other things we've seen so far from the president on the 12-day Asia trip is that he met with families of over a dozen Japanese citizens whose loved ones were kidnapped by the North Korean regime, some of them as long as four decades ago.

What did he say and what is the hope that will come from that? ROBERTSON: Sure. He met for about 40 minutes sitting in quite a

tight little circle with some of the family members. He talked with a mother. He talked with a brother. And, in fact, he talked with somebody who had been abducted and then released back to Japan. And this gentleman said that he was a bit tense and nervous about going in to meet Trump but once he met him he said President Trump was very warm with him, very kind, that, you know, he treated them all well.

That was a positive experience. It seemed to be the mother of one of the victims said we hope that President Trump can do something about this. President Trump when he was asked in the press conference later in the day about this he said that he would highlight the situation. Of course, he talked about the terrible tragedy that befell Otto Warmbier when taken into North Korean custody and got back to the United States and died very shortly afterwards.

So President Trump very alive for this issue and warming to the fact that, you know, he'd met with these families of the abductees and then he said he would try to do something to highlight their situation.

HARLOW: Important to bring the human toll to the floor in all of this.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much, reporting for us where the president is in Tokyo.

So we are moments away from an update from law enforcement in Texas on this deadly church massacre in Sutherland Springs. That comes 11:15 Eastern Time. So really just about 15 minutes from now you will see it live here again. Twenty-six people murdered ages 5 to 72. It is horrifying.

Thank you all for being with John and me today. "AT THIS HOUR WITH KATE BOLDUAN" picks it up now.