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GOP Tax Bill Faces New Uncertainty Ahead of Vote; Trump Blames Visa Lottery Program for N.Y. Terror Attack; Trump Attacks News Media During FBI Academy Graduation; Trump Judicial Nominee Struggles with Basic Legal Questions. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 15, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:33] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Today, lawmakers get their first look at the final $1.5 trillion tax bill that Republican negotiators in the House and Senate have been crafting up to this point. A lot of the finer details have been in flux, which has certainly complicated the possible vote count for Republicans.

Let's go to our congressional correspondent, Phil Mattingly, up on Capitol Hill.

Let's talk about the vote in the Senate, who are the names, who are the folks, the Senators who need to be watching right now. They could have the biggest impact on whether or not this legislation passes or fails?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the biggest two that everybody has been keeping an eye on is Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Mike Lee. The issue is the child tax credit. They are happy it was doubled in the Senate bill from $1,000 to $2,000, they want to expand the refundability piece, how much people would get beyond their income tax liability. They have gotten changes. The changes that were made would raise that refundability from $1100 to $1400. The big question is if it's enough. The big high wire act the House and Senate leaders are facing now, wolf, is the bill is done. It is signed. There will be no more changes for the House and Senate to consider this. Next week is the plan right now. That means whatever they agree to, whatever was finalized needs to do the trick and get the votes.

Beyond those two, you need to keep an eye on Susan Collins. Republican leaders are feeling confident she will get there, but she has sat on a fence and not stated her position one way or the other. Senator Jeff Flake is looking at the bill and waiting for the final proposal before he says anything. Wolf, Senator Bob Corker was a no the first time around. His concerns related to the deficit have not been addressed in a meaningful manner. But I talked to several aides who say keep a close eye on him. Majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has been working with him behind the scenes. There's hope he will come around. Clearly, a bonus for leaders.

But if you want to know why there is work on the fronts, two Senators have been ill. They missed all the votes this week, John McCain and Thad Cochran. An open question as to whether they will come back. Senator Thad Cochran's spokesman said he is in Washington, D.C. And will be back next week for a vote. Senator John McCain is still unclear. He has been in Walter Reed Medical Center for brain cancer.

So, a lot of open questions right now. No firm answer as to whether they have the vote. But I can tell you, Wolf, Senate Republican leaders and the House feel like they are on the brink and feel like they can get there.

[13:35:54] BLITZER: Phil Mattingly, thanks very much. Closely watching it with you. The next few hours, the document and the actual legislation will be made public and we will have a chance to go through it.

Thanks very much.

Are other countries sending the worst of the worst to the United States? That's what President Trump told law enforcement graduates at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Our panel is standing by to break down his comments on illegal immigration and his never-ending criticism of the news media.

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[13:40:45] BLITZER: President Trump uses a speech before law enforcement grads to push immigration policies during remarks at the FBI Academy earlier today. The president blamed the flawed immigration system here in the United States for the recent terror attacks in New York. He also renewed his call to end what's described as the lottery system for immigrants to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Visa lottery. They have a lottery. You pick people. Do you think the countries have given us their best people? No. What kind of a system is that? They come in by a lottery. They give us their worst people, they put them in a bin but in his hand, when he's picking them, is really the worst of the worst. Congratulations, you are going to the United States. OK. What a system. A lottery system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A.B. Stoddard is back with us, along with our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash.

I thought it was unusual for him to, all of a sudden, bring up the immigration issue before the grads at the FBI Academy.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Very much so. At the end of the year, there is a lot of reflection on promises kept and promises not kept. I work on a periodic series for CNN.com talking to conservative grassroots leaders. One thing they told me is that most of the blame for things not getting done goes to Congress. Some of the things there's frustration about among the conservative base, people who voted for Donald Trump for president, is that he hasn't done enough on immigration, whether it's the wall or anything else, to really tightening the screws on immigration. It's not surprising that any chance he gets, he says something like that. It is surprising to say that to the crowd he is talking to.

BLITZER: What was also surprising, A.B., even in the middle of honoring all these men and women in law enforcement, he couldn't resist going after the news media. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You see, there's the fake news back there. Look.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Fake news. No, actually some of them are fine people.

(LAUGHTER)

About -- let's see who's back there. Yes, about 30 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: About 30 percent are fine people. What did you think of that?

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR & COLUMNIST, REALCLEARPOLITICS: It was better at picking people out of a bin, which was astonishing. Every appearance for him is a stump speech opportunity. Immigration is sensitive. Steve Bannon, who will not be chastened by this Roy Moore loss, he is still on speed dial with the president. It will be a complicating factor in DACA to be coming up. He's basically telling Trump, you give amnesty, you lose that base. This will be more difficult. He will be less cooperative on this issue than he sounded. And he -- because we know he has "The New York Times" and CNN's Maggie Haberman on speed dial, most of his base listens to this. He frequently speaks to the mainstream media and checks in and wants to do a background discussion with them. But this is the routine thing and it makes the base happy. He is never going to give it up.

BASH: Can I add one thing to that? It is his routine thing and it's unfortunate that we have become accustomed to him saying things like fake news. But we shouldn't. I remember the first time after he was elected, he continued with that, and thinking what are dictators around the world looking for excuses to put the screws on the free press going to take from that? Almost a year later, the answer is a green light. That's what they are taking from it. It's dangerous and it's irresponsible and it really, really, not just hurts, it's not just about the press or the First Amendment, but it's about a pillar of democracy, and a pillar of democracy that the people he was talking to at the FBI tried to uphold. That's the same kind of thing that we do, which is public corruption in many senses. You know what, I know he was trying to get a laugh, I get it, but it's not funny. It's not OK. He is the president of the United States. [13:45:05] BLITZER: He undermines democracy and the First Amendment,

a free press by doing so. He has been doing it for a long time. We shouldn't be all that surprised. It is a very, very serious problem. Just as it is when he goes after the FBI or the U.S. intelligence community or goes after the news media. These are basic pillars.

STODDARD: Wolf, I think the most astounding thing is to watch the Republicans turn away from the opportunity to push back when he tries to undermine the institutions. They took an oath in Congress to the Constitution, not to a president. When you talk to them privately, they moan and groan about what we are talking about. Where were they when he said the FBI was in tatters? Did anyone stick up for the FBI on Capitol Hill? Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't. Not one. They don't ever stick up for a free press. Occasionally, they're press, and they say we need a free press. But this systematic --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: -- for free journalism. I'm messing that up. But, yes, once in a while.

(CROSSTALK)

STODDARD: It's a rare occasion that they push back and say, these norms, these institutions, this trust is a part of our special system, and it can't survive without it. They have become silent on this.

BLITZER: When he talks about fake news, he points to the journalists who are there working hard, covering what's going on. Did it throughout the campaign, and a year later, he is doing it as president of the United States at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia, which is --

BASH: We can't get used to it.

BLITZER: Yes.

BASH: It's not OK.

BLITZER: I guess we shouldn't be surprised though.

All right, guys, thanks very, very much.

There's more news we are following, including a viral video about one of President Trump's judicial nominees, and why it is raising questions about some of their qualifications.

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[13:51:25] BLITZER: A video that's gone viral is raising serious new questions about President Trump judicial nominees and whether they're really up to the job. During a hearing up on Capitol Hill, one nominee, Matthew Spencer Petersen, struggled to answer basic questions posed by Republican Senator John Kennedy. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN NEELY KENNEDY, (R), LOUISIANA: Have you ever tried a jury trial?

MATTHEW PETERSEN, JUDICIAL NOMINEE: I have not.

KENNEDY: Civil?

PETERSEN: No.

KENNEDY: Criminal?

PETERSEN: No.

KENNEDY: Bench?

PETERSEN: No.

KENNEDY: State or federal court?

PETERSEN: I have not.

KENNEDY: Have you ever tried or taken a deposition by yourself?

PETERSEN: I believe no.

KENNEDY: OK. Have you ever argued a motion in state court?

PETERSEN: I have not.

KENNEDY: Have you ever argued a motion in federal court?

PETERSEN: No.

KENNEDY: When is the last time you read the federal rules of evidence?

PETERSEN: The federal rules of evidence all the way through with -- well, comprehensively, would have been in law school.

KENNEDY: Do you know what a motion in limine is?

PETERSEN: I probably would not be able to give you a good definition.

KENNEDY: Do you know what the Younger Abstention Doctrine is?

PETERSEN: I've heard of it, but I, again.

KENNEDY: How about the Pullman Abstention Doctrine?

PETERSEN: I --

KENNEDY: You'll all see that a lot in federal court. OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Pretty embarrassing. Let's bring in our legal analyst, Laura Coates, a former federal

prosecutor.

So, just to be precise, Matthew Petersen, up for a seat on the U.S. district court here in Washington D.C. It's pretty shocking basic questions like that if you want to be a federal judge.

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is it a lifetime appointment for these positions, and he might as well asked do you have any experience in the areas you will face day to day, minute to minute as a federal judge, and he basically answered, no, I have no experience in this area whatsoever. It's disheartening, shocking, and it makes you nervous to think someone would be nominated, even considered qualified for that position, not knowing any of those things.

Some of the questions, Wolf, going back to law school about abstention for some people, but these are things you should know about, federal rules of evidence, motions in limine, this is the bulk of what you'll do, let alone deposition and general litigation.

BLITZER: Petersen serves on the Federal Elections Commission, admits his background is not in litigation. How unusual it is for a president to nominate someone for a federal judge position, an important position, a lifetime position that really has no experience in that area?

COATES: It's quite odd. It's not odd that someone would come from different areas of law. You could have transactional attorneys, litigators, litigators in a variety of fields. Every attorney is deemed to be a generalist. So we have to know about every single thing. However, a federal judge has a unique position to really be overseeing litigation, Wolf. It's a courtroom it's not transactional and negotiation-based experience. So it's odd to consider someone for a lifetime tenure who lacks the basics in what he will primarily be doing.

BLITZER: This isn't the first nominee who had some problems for a federal judge position. One was narrowly confirmed, despite receiving a rating of not qualified from the American Bar Association. Two other nominees had to have their names withdrawn for various reasons. What does this say about the vetting process of nominees for these critically important positions?

COATES: What vetting? What vetting is taking place? You would assume someone would be vetted to see if they have qualifications, even in the basics, about law, evidence, litigation, about criminal and other law. But to have more than one person be called disqualified by the ABA -- historically speaking, I think Bush over course of eight years maybe had seven people who had that rating. Obama over the course of eight years had zero he nominated. That shows in both Republican and Democrat administrations, it is possible to vet and weed out people who would not be able to sustain. Here, we don't see that happening.

[13:55:25] BLITZER: I suppose this was a big story on your SiriusXM radio program as well. COATES: Yes. It was. Thank you.

BLITZER: I'm sure it was.

Laura Coates, thanks very much.

A surprising new statement from the "Celebrity Apprentice"-turned White House staffer, Omarosa Manigault Newman. Days after departing her very high-profile job, Newman says she regrets the White House isn't as diverse as it should be. That, and a lot more coming up next.

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[14:00:09] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN on this Friday. Good to be with you.

The Republican tax plan --