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CNN NEWSROOM
No End in Sight, Standoff Intensifies Over Government Shutdown; Protests Erupt on Trump's First Year Anniversary; Mueller's Russia Probe Continues Despite Shutdown; Trump Brags Regulation Cuts Amid Shutdown; Shutdown Spoils Trump's Expensive Mar-a-Lago Gala; Porn Star to Make Public Appearance Amid Claims of Trump Affair; The Year of Trump: Golf Carts, Handshakes, Covfefe. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired January 20, 2018 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:21] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT.
Tonight, the first anniversary of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th President of the United States. The irony lost on no one that this is also the first day of the government shutdown.
Just moments ago, the Senate adjourned for the night. No solution in sight as of yet.
Meantime, at the President's Mar-a-Lago estate, there is a big black- tie gala to celebrate the one-year anniversary. It is underway right now just across that little pond lake that you can see.
President Trump obviously very much wanted to be there for the celebration, but he is not. He is in the White House, missing his party.
He taped a short video from the Rose Garden to play at tonight's fundraiser which says in part, and I quote him, there shouldn't be a shutdown but there is. It's caused by the Democrats, but we're going to end up winning another victory.
Now, that's as close as the President will get to his party tonight. Instead, his day was filled with scenes like this that he saw on his television screens -- and heard outside his window, no doubt.
Marching outside his doo, the Women's March. That essentially was an anti-Trump march. They protested even in Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago.
Now, those marches were repeated in cities across the country. An anniversary of sort in its own way. It was a repeat of the mass protests on the day after his inauguration last year.
Trump even directing a tongue and cheek tweet at the protesters, beautiful weather all over our great country. A perfect day for all women to march. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years.
Now, the President's tweet coming, of course, as there has been pretty much no progress to report solving the shutdown.
That did not stop the White House, though, from releasing several photos of what the President did today, including this one showing his senior staff all together, laughing and smiling there in the Oval Office.
Over on the Hill, two sources tell CNN, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, the leaders in the Senate, have not spoken since last night.
This is how the lawmakers spent Day One of the shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE: America knows this is the Trump shutdown.
REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-WA), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE: We are now engaged in a Schumer shutdown.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: The Trump shutdown is all yours.
MICK MULVANEY, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: My favorite is still the Schumer shutdown. So it's got that nice little ring to it, doesn't it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Yes, these are the people who run the United States.
OK. Phil Mattingly is out front on Capitol Hill. Phil!
Now, let's go to someone who has a little bit of a more mature attitude than we just heard from those Democrats and Republicans.
Where do things stand now that they have adjourned for the night?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erin, shutdown Day One was more defined by what didn't happen than what did.
As you noted, the Senate has adjourned. The House has adjourned. The two leaders in the Senate haven't spoken yet. The White House and Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, they haven't spoken yet either.
At this point, one lawmaker who was walking out of the capitol building a short while ago that I ran into said, in the latter part of the day, the biggest point of conversation was where is everybody going to eat dinner on a weekend when they're usually not here in Washington.
That just kind of underscores the reality right here -- right now here on Capitol Hill. People are dug in.
Republicans, very, very comfortable, I'm told by several aids, both in the House and Senate side, with their current position. They're willing to shorten the continuing resolution, the short-term funding agreement, from four weeks to three weeks. And that's as far as they are willing to go.
Democrats, they met behind closed doors today, and I'm told they came out of that meeting -- or even during that meeting, they felt more unified and resolute than they had been even yesterday about their decision to head this direction.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, told reporters earlier today she was very proud of where Democrats were at this point and said that they were getting a great return from around the country with what they decided to do.
That just kind of shows you, Erin, right now both parties seem to be comfortable in this position, and both parties don't seem to be moving off their positions anytime soon.
Here's kind of what's going to happen going forward. Obviously, lawmakers have headed home for the night. Staff is also gone for the night.
Tomorrow is a very important day. People recognize that the shutdown really starts to bite on Monday when federal workers are supposed to go to work. If a deal does not come tomorrow, I'm told by several lawmakers and aides, expect this to go for a while, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Phil Mattingly.
And I want to go straight to Jim Acosta now who is live at the White House.
And, Jim, you know, I mean, sadly, this is what happens when things like this happen. You should have things being dealt with, but they're not. It's just a blame game, and it is hitting a new low at this hour.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Erin, it's like school on a Saturday. No class. They were just exchanging insults and hashtags all day long. No proposals. There were no votes, obviously.
And I talked to a source close to this process earlier this evening who said there is no proposal that's an alternative to that C.R. that did not get voted in favor in the Senate last night. There is no proposal that's an alternative to that at this point anywhere on the radar screen, so they're really not dealing with anything at this point.
[20:05:06] Over here at the White House, they are projecting confidence and sort of a blase kind of whatever attitude about this. They were in the briefing room earlier today, basically accusing Democrats of being responsible for the shutdown.
And they also released some photographs, as you mentioned earlier, laughing and smiling sort of behind the scenes with the President. The President sitting at his desk with the phone up to his ear looking into the camera and so on, not seeming very concerned about all this. But, Erin, earlier this evening, the Trump campaign, several people
from the White House, rolled a very hostile ad into the mix. Take a look at this.
This is an ad that is focused on this issue of immigration, which has obviously divided the Republicans and Democrats in terms of the shutdown right now. Listen to some of the very overheated rhetoric that's at play in this ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump is right. Build the wall. Deport criminals. Stop illegal immigration now. Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So there you have it, Erin. The Trump campaign saying that Democrats will be somehow responsible for the murders of people who are killed by undocumented immigrants. That's a pretty inflammatory statement to be made in the middle of a government shutdown.
I talked to a Republican source who is close to this White House just a short while ago who was saying the President has to be careful with the immigration politics.
Remember, he was the one who was saying he wanted to get to an agreement, a compromise on DACA, on the Dreamers. A bill of love that he called it. There is no love in Washington tonight, Erin.
BURNETT: Certainly not. Thank you very much, Jim Acosta.
Out front now, Keith Boykin, former Clinton White House aide; Ben Ferguson, conservative radio host; Tara Setmayer, former communications director for Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher; Tim Naftali, former director of the Nixon Presidential Library and CNN presidential historian.
Nia-Malika Henderson and Chris Cillizza, our political experts here at CNN, are back with me. And all of you here for the hour.
So let's just start with that ad. Tim?
TIMOTHY NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yes.
BURNETT: It's from Team Trump.
NAFTALI: Uh-hmm.
BURNETT: It's an incredibly aggressive ad.
NAFTALI: Yes.
BURNETT: Obviously, it's not consistent with the facts on immigrants and their relationship to crime.
NAFTALI: No.
BURNETT: Obviously, multiple studies show that they are less likely to commit crime than the native-born population, just to put the facts out there. But that ad is dark and aggressive.
NAFTALI: Can you imagine if the Democrats put that ad out when President Trump signed that executive order that complicated the Affordable Care Act, and they argued that everybody who has a heart attack or suffered something because they are not covered by insurance, that that death is on the Republican Party?
Can you imagine that? That's the same spirit. What worries me at this moment is that at least one side is not going to give itself the opportunity to move back from the brink.
When you have brinksmanship like this, the only way for it to -- you have three ways you can get this solved. One is one side surrenders. The other is that the crisis goes on. But it can't go on too long because the government, at some point, has to be funded.
BURNETT: Yes.
NAFTALI: Or, three, they compromise. When you use language like that, how do you compromise? That's my position.
BURNETT: So, Ben, let me just -- you know, Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez came out.
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure.
BURNETT: And we talk about both sides. OK, both sides. There is blame to go around here. But in terms of who is willing to move, OK, you have an ad like that coming out of Team Trump. That's nasty. Let's just be honest, it's a nasty ad.
Congressman Luis Gutierrez who is one of the most pro-immigration Democrats in Congress came out today and said this about what he's willing to vote for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: I'm not supporting any C.R. that doesn't include a fix. Now, what I am telling you is, if that fix includes a wall, I'm ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. He talked about a fix for the Dreamers.
FERGUSON: Yes.
BURNETT: He not only said he's willing to give Trump the wall. He said, why don't you just tell me how high you want it to be built?
FERGUSON: Yes, he should --
BURNETT: Basically saying, I'll let you have it.
FERGUSON: He should call Chuck Schumer and say, you need to fund not one-tenth of the wall, you need to actually fund the whole project. Which is what Chuck Schumer tried to go the opposite with the President.
BURNETT: But Democrats are talking about compromise. I'm not hearing anything like that out of Republicans tonight.
FERGUSON: But, again, if you hear the -- heard what came out of the meeting, in the most important meeting, you could say, in the last 24 hours, was basically the President having this meeting with Schumer.
Schumer comes in and offers funding for the wall and clearly lied about it and said, no, basically, I'm going to give you one-tenth of the funding for the wall. And that's not a fair deal, and everyone knows you don't build a tenth of anything.
So I would say to the Congressman right there, I'm glad he is being honest -- intellectually honest. He should call Schumer. He should call the Democrats and say, hey, go back to the President of the United States of America. Let's do a deal.
Because I do think the President is clearly ready to do a deal on Dreamers, but he cannot do it without a secure border.
BURNETT: OK.
FERGUSON: Those two things have to be done at the same time.
BURNETT: If he is ready to do a deal with Dreamers.
FERGUSON: Sure.
BURNETT: You heard Kellyanne Conway. She said, oh, he's been working the phones all day.
FERGUSON: And I believe that.
BURNETT: But you have to agree he didn't call Senator Schumer.
TARA SETMAYER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR REP. DANA ROHRABACHER: Right.
FERGUSON: Well, but when you have a meeting and you do a --
BURNETT: But how can you say you're working the phones --
FERGUSON: I think --
BURNETT: -- and trying to do a deal when you don't call the guy on the other side?
[20:09:59] FERGUSON: Because I think you have to realize that sometimes you have to put pressure on members under Schumer. Because when Schumer walks into your meeting and says, I'm going to give you a tenth of what you want, you got to put pressure on him through his membership to say --
BURNETT: OK.
FERGUSON: -- we got to get this done and you guys are not saying it.
BURNETT: OK.
SETMAYER: Well, I'd love to know who he was calling today because we don't seem to know that.
BURNETT: And she didn't give that.
SETMAYER: And she didn't say who. So that photograph they put out looked awfully contrived to me.
(LAUGHTER)
SETMAYER: He looked very happy to be there.
BURNETT: I think you have found the perfect word.
KEITH BOYKIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.
SETMAYER: You know, and he was, like, you could put the -- it's like, let's caption this, "I'd rather be in Mar-a-Lago." Like, it was obvious.
Look, that ad that they put out today, that was from a PAC, I believe. And that is so unhelpful right now. You -- this is not the way you do things.
Even back in 2013 when Republicans were -- well, Ted Cruz decided that, you know, the ObamaCare issue was worth shutting the government down -- it went on for 16 days and all of that -- you didn't see Republicans or anyone putting -- or the Obama White House putting out ads, you know, showing that Republicans should be responsible if, like, elderly folks died.
They didn't do it that time. Now, they've accused us of doing things like that before, but they didn't do that in the middle of a shutdown.
I think the American people want to see maturity. They want to see people getting together, not this name-calling, not this, you know, you're a loser. Like, the statement that was put out last night by Sarah Sanders, I thought, was really immature and not very professional, calling Democrats losers in the middle of this.
BURNETT: Right.
SETMAYER: Like, this kind of stuff, I think, Trump gets --
FERGUSON: Or Jell-O. I mean, both sides --
SETMAYER: Yes. I also --
FERGUSON: I agree with you -- SETMAYER: But I'm just saying --
FERGUSON: -- both sides have to bring it up a little bit.
SETMAYER: -- why are we becoming what we despise? Republicans say that they're -- they are name-calling. They claim that Democrats have done this in the past. They say over -- they over exaggerate things and insult. But then Republicans, that gives them the license to do the same thing?
FERGUSON: But I think what you're saying here --
SETMAYER: The American people are sick of that.
FERGUSON: I think what you're saying here -- saying -- is really important which is this, I think both sides right now --
SETMAYER: Need to grow up.
FERGUSON: -- are really willing to go the long game with this shutdown. I think there are Democrats and Schumer who are saying -- I think when they had that meeting today, it was very clear. And I think what his point was this, I'm willing to let this go for a while.
BURNETT: The meeting was yesterday. They have no other meeting today.
SETMAYER: It was yesterday.
FERGUSON: Yes, that's right. Excuse me.
BURNETT: OK.
FERGUSON: But I mean I think it's clear from today, they're ready to go for this long-term.
BURNETT: Keith?
BOYKIN: One party controls the government.
FERGUSON: Two.
BOYKIN: One party controls the Congress.
FERGUSON: You can't do anything without the Senate having the 60 votes.
BOYKIN: Let me just --
FERGUSON: So it's two.
BOYKIN: One party controls the House.
FERGUSON: You have to be honest about that.
BOYKIN: One party controls the Senate. One party controls the White House. And they control the Judiciary, by the way.
So, yes, you do need 60 votes to do certain things, but, listen --
FERGUSON: So both parties have to work.
BOYKIN: But, listen, Ben, that's exactly my point. Both parties have to work. And the Republicans haven't acted this year, for the past 365 days, and President Trump hasn't acted as if both parties were co- equal partners.
So, yes, they changed the rules for Neil Gorsuch so they could pass his nomination, confirm him with less than 60. Fewer than 60 votes, with only 51. They --
FERGUSON: Why do you think they did that, though?
BOYKIN: When they did that --
FERGUSON: Democrats weren't willing to work on these things.
BOYKIN: Because they stole the seat from the Democrats, Ben, that's why. And really, when --
FERGUSON: Stealing a seat is pretty extreme.
BOYKIN: We'll talk about that another day. But then when they tried to repeal ObamaCare, they didn't try to get Democrats involved with that. When they tried the tax cut bill for the wealthy, they didn't try to get Democrats involved with that. So --
(CROSSTALK)
BOYKIN: No, look, the Democrats --
SETMAYER: Keith, the Democrats did the same thing.
BOYKIN: But let me just finish my point. Let me just finish my --
SETMAYER: What you're saying is the Democrats did the same thing --
BOYKIN: Let me just --
SETMAYER: -- when they controlled the Senate.
BOYKIN: Let me just finish my point.
FERGUSON: I agree. I'm --
BOYKIN: Let me just finish my point.
BURNETT: OK, finish your point.
FERGUSON: In ObamaCare, we weren't even there in the room.
BURNETT: Finish your point. BOYKIN: Ben, there's two of you talking. Let me just have this one
point. The point is you can't have a feast for Republicans and Democrats where the Republicans eat the majority of the food --
FERGUSON: Did you do that when you all did ObamaCare?
BOYKIN: -- and then the bill comes --
FERGUSON: We weren't anywhere close in the room.
BOYKIN: -- and you expect Democrats to pay the bill. That's what Republicans are doing. You didn't need us for the entire time for the past 365 days. Then suddenly, the bill comes due --
FERGUSON: Keith --
BURNETT: OK. Hold on for a pause.
BOYKIN: -- to fund the government and you want us to pay for it.
SETMAYER: Because it's the rules though.
BURNETT: I just have to ask Chris here, how long is this going to go for? What's your thought? Quickly.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE: I'm with Ben.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes.
CILLIZZA: I think -- look, OK, so it's either tomorrow and Monday, or I think it could go longer because, again, it's once you jump. That's why you saw so much attention, Erin, last night.
BURNETT: Yes.
CILLIZZA: Lindsey Graham, Chuck Schumer, they're all in there because up to the deadline. Once the deadline passes, what was today? A whole lot less happened than I think people thought were going to happen.
HENDERSON: Yes.
CILLIZZA: If it does --
FERGUSON: It's a game of chicken.
BURNETT: And --
CILLIZZA: Phil Mattingly made the point. If it doesn't go tomorrow or Monday -- now, Monday matters because you start to feel the real political and real world impact.
BURNETT: Right, these people are in the rocks.
HENDERSON: And the thing is -- CILLIZZA: But if it goes on, it could go longer.
BURNETT: And the last one, the Obama shutdown --
CILLIZZA: Yes, 16 days.
NAFTALI: Sixteen days.
BURNETT: -- because I do refer to them by who the President was.
CILLIZZA: Yes.
BURNETT: It was, what, 16, 17 days.
HENDERSON: Yes, 16, 17.
NAFTALI: Yes.
BURNETT: How --
HENDERSON: I mean, and the next big day, I think, is his State of the Union. I mean, does he --
CILLIZZA: That's right.
BURNETT: Yes.
CILLIZZA: Don't forget that.
NAFTALI: Right.
HENDERSON: You know, doesn't that sort of put the fear of God in Trump and the Republicans --
BURNETT: Right.
HENDERSON: -- this idea that he is going to give a State of the Union with a government shutdown.
BURNETT: All right --
CILLIZZA: One more thing, the longer it goes --
BURNETT: Yes.
CILLIZZA: The longer it goes, the higher the stakes, politically, get.
HENDERSON: Yes, true.
BURNETT: Right.
HENDERSON: For both parties.
CILLIZZA: A day or two, I don't know if, in November 2018, people remember. BURNETT: Even remember, yes.
CILLIZZA: But if it goes two weeks --
BURNETT: Yes.
CILLIZZA: -- it starts to become a thing that could fundamentally kind of -- the dynamic of an election.
BURNETT: And, of course, there is that, does the President lose leverage? At his State of the Union, he is not going to want to have it happening?
NAFTALI: Right.
BURNETT: Do you use leverage coming into that night by it being your big speech?
All right, thanks to all staying with me.
And next, one thing not affected by the government shutdown is the Russia probe. Money is still flowing to Bob Mueller, and we'll tell you where that stands tonight.
[20:15:05] Plus, the President, just moments ago, bragging about all the regulations he has rolled back in Year One, many you may not even know about. Regulations is a very big part of his story, and you're going to see exactly why.
And porn star Stormy Daniels making a public appearance tonight. I'm not going to tell you what it's billed as, but I will when the segment comes up. It's not really appropriate, still, at 8:15. Reports that his lawyer tried to silence her with a payoff and, of course, the performance tonight.
We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT.
Live pictures from Capitol Hill on your screen. The government shutdown in effect. Obviously, to commemorate, well, ironically, on the same day, at the one-year anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.
The shutdown will affect many parts of the government. One thing, though, that is not expected to shut down is Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Funding continues unimpeded for that.
Chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is out front.
Jim, one year into the Trump presidency, a lot of people did not think we would still be talking about an ongoing Russia investigation. We are. Where is it? JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
And not for lack of trying by the President, right? I mean, he has attacked the intelligence agencies for their assessment and the intelligence agencies themselves.
He has attacked the FBI, the Department of Justice. He fired his FBI director, in large part, to undermine and end this investigation by his own public admission, and yet it continues.
[20:20:05] And keep in mind, you have two major indictments, right? Paul Manafort, the President's former campaign chairman. Rick Gates, his former deputy campaign chairman. Granted, for business crimes prior to the campaign.
But you do have two guilty pleas for one very senior staffer, that being Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, and then George Papadopoulos who has admitted to speaking with Russians about damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
Those are four fairly significant legal scalps there, and you still have serious unanswered questions. Was there -- were there financial crimes by people closer to Trump? Was there any cooperation between Trump aides, campaign members, and Russians? Still not a settled question, at least.
And then, of course, was there obstruction of justice, particularly by the President himself?
And just a final note, Erin, the most significant witness in this investigation has not sat down yet with the Special Counsel. That, of course, is the President himself.
BURNETT: That's right. And, obviously, as we know, all sorts of investigations are underway as to if, whether, and how that would occur. Jim, thank you so much.
My guests are back with me. Also joining, the former assistant secretary for Department of Homeland Security, Juliette Kayyem; and former special assistant to Robert Mueller, Michael Zeldin.
Juliette, let me start with you, the Russia situation. This President was very confident, as were many around him, that this would be over by the end of 2017. Here we are on the anniversary of his inauguration. Are we near the end?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, we don't know. And any lawyer who was believing that they knew was an idiot and was giving bad advice to the President.
The idea that you would have a sense after two indictments and two guilty pleas that this thing is over by the end of year is just -- it just defies anyone who knows how litigation works. So that's the first thing.
I think the second is that the contours of the case are clearly changing, at least in terms of Manafort and Bannon and some of this financial stuff. So when the Trump campaign and organization says they had no contacts with the Russians, that's clearly not true.
But I think what's more significant now and what we're starting to see is that the -- when Trump said he had no dealings in Russia, what he didn't say is that the Russians -- that may be true, but the Russians clearly had dealings with the Trumps. I mean, in other words, the investments and all of this money.
BURNETT: Right.
KAYYEM: And so what you're starting to see unfold is a very different case. I have always said on air, I don't know where this thing ends. That's not -- I mean, that's what Mueller is for.
But the idea that you're going to end it before we have an understanding of what happened in 2016 or who is propping up this family, not just Trump but, obviously, Ivanka and others, is ridiculous.
BURNETT: Right. And that does seem to be, Michael, where a lot of the questions are. We don't know exactly, right? I mean, obstruction of justice -- there's all sorts of areas they're looking, avenues they're exploring.
One of them, though, appears to be money laundering, whether there is any, whether it's related to Russia.
I mean, you even have the Michael Wolff book which, apparently, they wanted to talk to Bannon about, in which Bannon said, quote, this is all about money laundering. Mueller chose Senior Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to effing Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Junior, and Jared Kushner.
MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO ROBERT MUELLER: Right. And this is -- to play on what Juliette said, it is money coming into the Trump Organization, starting in the 1990s through the mid-2000s.
When Trump was facing bankruptcy multiple times and regular financial institutions would not lend to him, he turned to the Russians for money. His sons, each, said that in speeches. Eric has denied it. But Don Junior is on the record having said --
BURNETT: Yes, yes.
ZELDIN: -- in their high-end properties, he said, we don't need banks because we have the Russians.
Well, when you look at that in geopolitical terms at that time, this is the rise of the oligarch class in Russia. This is the money that is being siphoned out of Russia and being placed in high-end real estate.
And FinCEN, the financial intelligence center in Washington that is the brain trust of Treasury, knows this because, in 2016, they put geographic targeting orders on high-end financial transactions of this exact sort because they said this is how money laundering occurs in New York real estate.
BURNETT: All right. So New York real estate. And as you point out, Don Junior has admitted to Russian ties -- financial ties. The President, though, has denied any financial interests in Russia except for a real estate deal. Let me just play the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, the closest I came to Russia, I bought a house a number of years ago in Palm Beach, Florida. I sold it to a Russian for a hundred million dollars, including brokerage collisions.
I have nothing to do with Russia. I told you. I have no deals there. I have no anything.
I have no investments in Russia, none whatsoever. And no loans, no nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: To the bottom of how much of that is true. But by the President's own admission, he does -- the real estate deal is $100 million.
[20:25:00] SETMAYER: Right. When he only paid, I think, $40 million for it.
BURNETT: Right.
SETMAYER: So that was quite the --
BURNETT: He was very proud of the property.
FERGUSON: Yes.
SETMAYER: Yes, quite the profit on that. And, you know, look, he was very careful in what he said there. He said he didn't have any business deals in Russia. So that doesn't mean that he's not dealing with Russian money.
For example, Deutsche Bank. He has $300 million with them. Deutsche Bank is -- has been sanctioned in the past for being involved with Russian -- illicit Russian money bypassing sanctions and things like that.
Jared Kushner also. His family company has a lot of money going through Deutsche Bank to hundreds of millions of dollars. We're not talking pocket change here.
So these are aspects of the Mueller investigation that, I think, the Trump family and inner circle is very concerned about because if Mueller starts poking around at the financial dealings, that's always Trump's biggest vulnerability. That's why we've never seen his tax returns and we never will. And that's why he was --
BURNETT: Yes.
SETMAYER: He has been freaking out about this Russia stuff.
BURNETT: Yes.
SETMAYER: It's because of his business dealings. He's been a shady businessman his entire life, and he -- that hasn't changed now that he's President of the United States.
BURNETT: And we're going to hit pause. I will say, look, he was perfectly willing to admit he takes hair loss medication. I mean, right, completely open about his health records. And I saw that with all seriousness.
He is not -- he does not feel the same way about his finances, right? He'd be willing to let out something deeply personal before we would his financial records.
Next, Trump's marking his -- or making his mark in his first year by undoing a lot of Obama's accomplishments. He is doing it by regulations. Wait until you what he's actually done.
And the President forced to miss a mega-fundraiser happening right now at his Mar-a-Lago club. So the people who are there -- it does look some sort of grainy, shady shot here. $100,000 a head to go. $250,000 if you were going to participate in a roundtable with the President.
The head of the RNC is hosting the event, and she is my guest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:30:29] BURNETT: The government remains shut down, but that is not stopping President Trump from boasting tonight about the hundreds of regulations he has rolled back in his first year.
He tweeted, the Trump administration has terminated more, caps, unnecessary regulation in just 12 months than any other administration has terminated during their whole term in office, no matter what the length. The good news is, caps again, there is much more to come.
It's something Trump is very proud of, and, frankly, it's something we don't hear about every day. But he is changing the country through regulation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've set a new record on reducing regulation and all forms of stopping growth and stopping jobs that were crippling America's economy.
We canceled or delayed over 1,500 planned regulatory actions more than any previous president by far.
My administration is removing the burdens and regulations on your companies so that you can compete, thrive, and grow. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Tom Foreman is out front. So, Tom, look, what are these regulations that Trump is rolling back?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, as you noted, faced with a hostile Republican Congress, Barack Obama relied on regulations and rules to push a lot of his agenda. And, yes, Donald Trump is aggressively flipping them back over, specifically starting with the environment.
Think about the Paris Climate Agreement. This was a deal that Barack Obama signed along with about 200 other nations. He thought it would make the environment better. President Trump thought it would make the business climate worse, so he pulled out of it.
President Obama promoted oil production in this country, but he was concerned about Arctic oil drilling and drilling offshore. He wanted to pull that back. President Trump has gone the opposite way. Although, notably, he had a quick exception for Florida where one of his Republican allies is the governor.
Other environmental measures that have been changed. Expanded oil safety regulations have been pulled back. Rules limiting pollution in waterways, monitoring it, in the U.S. have been pulled back. There's been a change in a hunting ban for some predators up in Alaska.
National monument expansion. President Obama wanted more of it. President Trump wants less of it. Erin.
BURNETT: Wow, all of those things. And then you could see on there more than environmental regulations. I mean, he has undone rules on many, many other areas too, like what?
FOREMAN: Oh, yes, absolutely. Here, look, police departments could buy surplus military gear. President Obama thought that made them too much like armies. He banned it. President Trump has reversed that ban.
What about Cuba? We've had warming relations under President Obama. They've grown chilly again under President Trump.
President Obama thought that transgender people should be able to serve in the military. President Trump says no. The courts are sorting that out, by the way.
President Obama said they should be able to use any public restrooms that they felt comfortable in. President Trump says, no, your biological sex should determine that.
The TPP trade deal, that's something President Obama really liked it that President Trump really didn't. He pulled out of that plan.
And, of course, you know about immigration, whether you're talking about DACA or you're talking about Haitian immigrants or you're talking about sanctuary cities. President Trump has gone the opposite direction.
And as he said and as you said, in many other areas, he's changed everything. Notably, though, look at this. ObamaCare was his first big executive action, and he wanted to overturn this thing. And it really didn't quite get the job done. He needed Congress to do that.
But it was a start, Erin, a start on what has been an avalanche which has been trying to bury all of the history of the Obama presidency and replace it with what we will, one day, call the legacy of Donald Trump. Erin.
BURNETT: Absolutely. Thank you very much, Tom.
FOREMAN: You're welcome.
TODD: All right. And our panel is back with me.
You know, Keith, some of these regulations people may not have noticed. But, you know, you take up Gay Pride Month. The President now is no longer going to acknowledge that. Healthy school lunch requirements, he has rescinded those.
Those, obviously, were things President Obama cared about. How much of this is about that, undoing what President Obama has done, as opposed to determining his own legacy?
BOYKIN: I think Trump's animus toward Obama has been motivating a lot of what's been taking place over the course of the past year. And the irony of it is that Republicans were so critical of President Obama for governing by executive order. But Trump governs by executive order and regulation -- or deregulation, and they say nothing about it.
The other irony is that Trump also campaigned as a populist, but he has been governing as a plutocrat. Most of the regulations had been designed to benefit large corporations, oil and mining companies, big interest, big banks. Rolling back the protections for labor unions and so forth.
[20:35:09] And so what we have here is a president who said he was going to build a wall, he was going to repeal and replace ObamaCare, he was going to lock up Hillary Clinton, all those big promises.
He didn't do those. Instead, he did a lot of small things that help a lot of big, rich people that he left those forgotten men and women behind.
BURNETT: And, Ben, what about, though --
FERGUSON: I mean --
BURNETT: -- there are some things that are very public that he said that may not affect a large part of the population. Let's just take transgender, right?
FERGUSON: Sure. BURNETT: It's a small group of people, but a lot of people care about
it. And during the election, he acted like he was very open on this issue, OK?
He was asked by then-host of the "Today Show," Matt Lauer, if he was OK with someone who is transgender using any bathroom they wanted. Here is how he answered the question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, FORMER HOST OF "TODAY": So if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses?
TRUMP: That is correct.
CAITLYN JENNER, CELEBRITY: Last week, Donald Trump said I could take a pee anywhere in the Trump facilities, so I am going to go take a pee in the ladies' room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He reversed it.
FERGUSON: Yes.
BURNETT: So he didn't --
FERGUSON: Well, I think that --
BURNETT: He didn't keep his word there.
FERGUSON: I think, specifically, there's a difference between when you're talking about the private sector. And he was talking about his hotel and his place as a private sector. And he thinks you have the right to do what you want to do there, whether you want to say no guns allowed in the private sector. He believes in that.
But I also think that this is a very small issue for him compared to all the other ones here. I mean, look at school lunches, for example. It's easy to say, well, he wanted kids to somehow eat unhealthy lunches.
No. He listened to the schools, and the public schools were clearly saying that, as good as the intent was for the school lunch regulations, they were a massive failure, and the children were not eating the food.
You go and talk to the unions.
BURNETT: Well, that's a --
FERGUSON: And the unions were saying the kids were not eating the food. But I'm saying --
BURNETT: -- separate thing than saying that it's a big problem. FERGUSON: But I'm saying --
BURNETT: Go ahead.
FERGUSON: My point is that the President did things like this -- and let's be clear, he didn't add regulations. You're talking about he is legislating through regulations. No, he got rid of legislation that the President was doing. He got rid of it through deregulating, going back to what was normal before.
BOYKIN: It's an executive order which have --
FERGUSON: To take something away --
BOYKIN: -- which Republicans were --
FERGUSON: -- that you decided to do instead of going to Congress.
BOYKIN: Republicans were opposed to executive order government, and that's what they got with Donald Trump.
FERGUSON: He didn't do executive orders. He took away orders.
BURNETT: How much, Michael, has this changed --
BOYKIN: By executive orders.
BURNETT: -- has he changed the landscape thus far?
ZELDIN: Well, with --
BURNETT: Do we say more of these, you know, changes --
ZELDIN: So --
BURNETT: -- executive orders than any president in their entire term in one year?
ZELDIN: Right. And Tim will know more than I, but I can tell you, in looking at the charts that the Internet has, Trump is issuing more executive orders than anyone essentially since we've been at war. George W. --
BURNETT: Yes.
ZELDIN: -- and Roosevelt Truman. In peace times, which we are in peacetimes -- leave aside ISIS, I get it. But in non-war, national war times, he is doubling the number of executive orders of any other president before him. And that's a separation of powers issue, as far as I'm concerned.
BURNETT: Yes. Is this an executive thing, Juliette, or is this a sign that Congress is just --
KAYYEM: Well, what you have to remember is that many of these --
BURNETT: -- a failure.
KAYYEM: No. Many of these regulations are done, you know -- basically, executive orders are when a president tries -- informs his executive branch.
It doesn't control states, it doesn't control governors on what they can and can't do. So there is sometimes a misunderstanding about that. That's important, like what you were saying, just that it was what his own agencies are going to do.
And I want to -- maybe because it's my world, national security and homeland security. Many, many regulations have to do with the safety and security of the American public, which -- and we're much safer now than we were in 1950 or 1960 when there were no fire regulations, when there were no air pollution regulations.
So this idea that regulations are just all bad or whatever, really, you got to drill down on what they're doing. And they have -- for the most part, we are a safer, healthier, living longer nation than in the time of the 1940s or '50s when we didn't regulate industry.
BURNETT: When we didn't have them, yes. Perhaps you could look at some place like --
SETMAYER: Except this illustrates the --
BURNETT: OK.
SETMAYER: Except that the onerous regulations of the Obama administration foisted on the American people were costing us hundred billion dollars a year.
FERGUSON: It politically weaponized regulations.
SETMAYER: That's correct. It did not --
BOYKIN: Not true.
SETMAYER: They did, true.
(CROSSTALK)
BOYKIN: That is so not true.
SETMAYER: The regulations --
BURNETT: For a final word, you opened the bag.
(CROSSTALK)
SETMAYER: -- so bad.
BURNETT: OK. Thank you all.
Next, they're celebrating at Mar-a-Lago right now. Trump not there, but the head of the Republican Party is there. Ronna McDaniel will be my guest.
And the woman who was reportedly paid for her silence about an alleged sexual affair with Donald Trump making a public appearance tonight.
[20:39:24] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT. We are continuing to follow the breaking news this hour. The United States government is closed. Shut down now for more than 20 hours.
Tonight, an agitated President Trump forced to abandon his plans for a trip to Mar-a-Lago. He was going there to celebrate his first year in office, and it was a big black-tie gala.
As we speak, people are arriving there at the fundraising where tickets range from $100,000 to $250,000 a couple. Out front, the co- host of the fundraiser, Ronna McDaniel. She's also the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and, obviously, there tonight.
And I appreciate your time. Ronna, the first question I have is about the party. I mean, I know you originally had about a hundred people expected to attend. Of course, the President is no longer going to be there. How many people are you expecting tonight?
RONNA MCDANIEL, CHAIRWOMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Actually, almost everybody is attending. Nobody has asked for a refund. They are fully committed to supporting this President and keeping the majorities in the midterms.
It wasn't a black-tie gala. I'm not dressed that way. It was a fundraiser to support the President's first year in office and make sure he keeps majorities so he can keep this momentum going.
BURNETT: So that's pretty incredible if you're going to say all -- about all of those hundred people are still going to be attending and going to be there tonight --
MCDANIEL: They didn't --
BURNETT: -- and not asking for refunds. Go ahead.
MCDANIEL: Nobody asked for a refund. Not everybody showed up, but nobody asked for a refund.
BURNETT: OK, I understand. I understand the distinction. OK.
MCDANIEL: Yes.
BURNETT: So how much money are you raising then? I mean, you know, the numbers are pretty stunning, $100,000 a couple. $250,000, I believe was the number, if you had a roundtable with the President, which, of course, to your point, isn't going to happening but they haven't asked for a refund. How much money are you raising?
MCDANIEL: I don't have the final tally up, but it will be a good number. Listen, we're hitting the ground running. We raised record money last year more than any other political party
in the history of an off-year election, $132 million, because we know what we're up against, and we know how important it is to keep these majorities.
The country is doing better under President Trump, and we want to make sure that that continues.
[20:45:01] BURNETT: So, Ronna, let me be honest, an event like this, $100,000 a couple, $250,000 with all the extra bells and whistles. You've got thousands of people who work for the federal government who are not getting money right now, on furlough. I mean, the optics are pretty bad, don't you think?
MCDANIEL: I think the optics are exactly right because the President is in Washington, D.C. trying to work with Democrats who just shut down our government.
So Democrats need to answer for why they just voted overwhelmingly to shut down our government, 230 of them, when 269 Republicans voted to keep it open. It makes us -- it gives us urgency as to what we're doing and why it's so important to keep these majorities and expand them.
Our low dollar fundraising is through the roof as well, but we're committed to keeping our country on the right track. And that's going to be through President Trump and Republican majorities in the House and the Senate.
BURNETT: OK, so you don't see anything inappropriate about tonight's party. On the point, though, about who is to blame here, I mean, during the government shut down in 2013, your predecessor, Reince Priebus, of course, who was chair of the RNC at the time, went on Fox News.
He blamed President Obama for the shutdown. And he did so for specific reasons that I wanted to play for you, Ronna.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I think the President has a real failure in his leadership style. And, you know, being president isn't easy.
But being a leader is also someone that could sit down with Harry Reid and John Boehner and say, OK, guys, let's get together and figure out how we're going to fix this. And that's what we're looking for.
If there is one way to describe Obama, he's an aloof president who's a very good campaigner. And that's who what -- that's him in a nutshell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So he says a real failure in leadership. Reince continued to say that President Obama's good at campaigning, terrible at leading as President of the United States.
If that was the RNC stance the last time the government shut down when a Democrat was president, how is it that President Trump is not a failure now, Ronna?
MCDANIEL: Well, the Democrats, from the beginning of President Trump's term -- and we're celebrating the anniversary of that -- have refused to work with this president.
There has been a pattern this entire year, starting last year when 60 Democrats boycotted the inauguration. They have used this mantra of obstruct and resist. And we do not have a history, through any campaigning this year --
BURNETT: Which, of course, the Republicans did for President Obama, right? I mean, they were very open about it.
MCDANIEL: -- as -- of Democrats trying to work with this president. And so now, we know the math. Let's do the math.
You need 60 votes in the Senate to keep the government open. Republicans only have 51 senators. We need Democrats to keep this government open. They made a decision to shut it down. This is their choice.
Everyone wants to keep it open. They don't oppose anything in the bill. I know they don't oppose the Children's Health Insurance Program. I know they don't oppose funding our military.
So why did they shut it down? Why not give 30 days to work on the issues that we can come to agreement on that everybody is saying we should agree on?
So I just don't understand why Democrats did this. The President is in Washington, D.C. focusing on fixing this problem. He met with Chuck Schumer yesterday. He's going to continue to push for the American people.
BURNETT: All right, Ronna. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time.
MCDANIEL: Thank you for having me.
BURNETT: And next, the woman who allegedly had a sexual relationship with the President making her first public appearance tonight -- public appearance as questions are growing about her reported payoff from the President.
And Donald Trump's greatest hits and misses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: God bless the United Sturch (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:51:23] BURNETT: New tonight, a porn star who allegedly had a relationship with then-businessman Trump making a public appearance tonight. Stormy Daniels, reportedly paid more than $100,000 to stay quiet. The payment allegedly made from a private company set up by the President's personal attorney.
Daniels is now taking advantage of this newfound publicity, performing live tonight at the club you see there in South Carolina. Dianne Gallagher is there, out front.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stormy Daniels brings her "Making America Horny Again" tour to the Trophy Club for a one-night performance this Saturday.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cashing in on controversy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the heels of Stormy's national publicized alleged affair.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): That affair, according to the "Wall Street Journal," between adult film star Stormy Daniels and the now-President of the United States reportedly happened back in 2006 after the two met at a golf tournament.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and the White House have denied the relationship, but that's not stopping this club from promoting it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Twitter storm sensation.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): And on Friday, "In Touch" magazine published the full transcript of a 2011 interview with Daniels in which she eagerly dishes on the tawdry details of her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump.
According to the Associated Press, the tabloid never published it because Donald Trump's personal lawyer threatened to sue. Neither Trump nor his lawyer, Michael Cohen, have responded to CNN's request for comment.
Now, journalists at several news outlets say, just a few weeks before the 2016 election, Daniels told them she wanted to talk about her relationship with Trump. And then suddenly, she didn't.
The "Wall Street Journal" also reports that's around the time Cohen formed a shell company to pay the porn star $130,000 in exchange for her silence.
CNN has obtained documents that show Cohen did set up at least two corporations in Delaware around that time, including one on September 30, 2016, called Resolution Consultants LLC. Those records show he dissolved it on October 17th. That same day, he
incorporated Essential Consultants LLC. And that's the company, the "Journal" says, Cohen used to pay Daniels hush money through a series of fake names and legal contracts.
The White House avoiding answering questions about it Friday night on CNN.
RAJ SHAH, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These matters were asked about and answered pretty extensively during the campaign, and I certainly don't have anything to add. So you can contact --
BURNETT: Well, there was a denial of the affair, but there's never been any reporting about her being paid by the President until now.
SHAH: Sure, and you can contact the individuals who were involved with that.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): CNN has not been able to independently contact Daniels.
But in a statement attributed to her, she calls the "Wall Street Journal" article absolutely false and denies, not only the affair, but ever receiving hush money from Donald Trump. That statement, however, was provided by Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GALLAGHER: Yes. And that statement may be a denial, but, look, there is no denying that at least the allegation of the affair is what this event is about tonight.
Erin, you can't really see it, but behind me -- because we can't broadcast from the property, but it says "Making America Horny Again" here. The pictures of President Trump are on the outside of this.
We spoke to the owner. He says this was his idea. But Stormy Daniels, not only knows about it, but she's more than OK with it, Erin, so.
BURNETT: I guess that you can take from that what you will, but certainly not denying it in that forum. Thank you so much, Dianne.
And next, a whole year of Jeanne Moos and Donald Trump. I mean, if you didn't see Jeanne this year, you didn't see anything.
[20:54:55] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Finally tonight, the year in President Trump. Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bet you can't look away. No one eclipses President Trump when it comes to flubs, starting with his inauguration when the wind revealed his tie held together with scotch tape to the time he invented a new country.
TRUMP: Nambia.
MOOS (voice-over): It's Namibia. But what's a missing syllable? And did he think we'd miss seeing him push aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro at a NATO photo-op?
JAMES CORDON, HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": Is he a president or a bride's maid positioning to catch the bouquet?
MOOS (voice-over): And, of course, he caught flak --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How great is that?
MOOS (voice-over): -- for his golf cart driving.
Protested one gulf fan, I don't care if he's God. You don't drive golf carts within 20 yards of a green.
MOOS (on camera): You've got to hand it to President Trump. When it comes to flubs, he's got his hands full.
MOOS (voice-over): When he used both hands to clutch a glass of water, he earned the title, President Sippy Cup.
And after his unforgettable imitation of then-rival Marco Rubio desperate for a drink, President Trump drowned in comparisons for doing pretty much what Rubio had done.
The President got swatted by his wife when he tried to take her hand. She had to nudge him. To remind him to put his hand on his heart.
And when's the last time you shook hands with your sweetie? Not only did the Trumps resort to a marital handshake.
TRUMP: You go sit down, honey.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!" He shut her down like a robot from "Westworld."
MOOS (voice-over): His 19-second handshake earned him an eye roll from the Japanese Prime Minister.
JOHN OLIVER, HOST, " LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER": Just watch his expression at the end.
MOOS (voice-over): Over and over, he risked liberating arms from sockets with his now infamous grab and yank technique.
And when it came to the most predictable line in any president's speech, he blew the blessing.
TRUMP: And God bless the United Sturch (ph). Thank you very much.
MOOS (voice-over): But at least you can't slur a tweet, unless maybe you start to fall asleep? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Covfefe. Huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Covef? Covfefe?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Covfefe.
TRUMP: I know words. I have the best words.
MOOS (voice-over): Some he knows even before the dictionary does.
[21:00:02] Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Love him or hate him, you've got to be able to laugh, people. Thanks.
And our special coverage continues now with Don Lemon.
