Senator Cory Booker Announces Presidential Bid
SARA MURRAY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a criminal proceeding and not a public relations campaign. She acknowledged that Roger Stone has his First Amendment right to speak publicly, and said he was even justified in some of the pushback probably about this case. But she said it is her job to ensure that there's a fair trial, that there's an unbiased jury. And that's why she's considering this gag order. They have until February 8, both sides, to respond with their thoughts on this matter. And she cautioned that there are risks to treating these sort of pretrial proceedings like a book tour. She said that if Roger Stone is making inconsistent statements publicly, the special counsel's office could use those against him potentially in his trial. Now, the other thing they were discussing was, what is the timeline of this going to be? And, Brooke, it sounds like this could be going on for quite a while. The government said that they are considering a trial date somewhere in October. That seemed to take the judge by surprise. She said she was hoping for something maybe in the July or August range. So far, nothing has been set on that. Both sides, though, will be back in court in March.</s>BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Sara, thank you. Evan, I want to focus in on one of the bits that Sara reported from on this judge on the inconsistencies point, that the judge reminded him that any inconsistencies Stone has had when speaking publicly could be introduced as evidence during his trial. So, Evan, how significant is that?</s>EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely true. And, look, we have seen this with some of the -- with some of the other cases that have been handled by the Mueller investigators. Obviously, now we see that the U.S. attorney's office in Washington is now taking the lead in the courtroom here in the Roger Stone case. But we have seen precedent for this where public statements are viewed -- and certainly if they're not in line with other statements that are made, that they could be used to show that someone is trying to deceive, someone is trying to perhaps guide other witnesses, to try to encourage witnesses who may come before this trial, trying to essentially guide them to also lie, to sort of line up their lies with Roger Stone's own alleged lies. So, I think that's what the judge is trying to make clear to him, that he is essentially endangering himself. Look, there's also the problem here that this judge, I think, realizes that she acted a little bit harshly in the Manafort case. I think she was very quick to gag in that case and even prohibited the lawyers from speaking. And I think, look, there's Supreme Court precedent that says a defendant has a right to defend himself and has a right to provide -- to produce a strenuous defense. And so I think the judge has to weigh both of those things. And I think that's what she's perhaps trying to figure out, how to reach a happy medium between what she did in the Manafort case in which she told people just shut up, and this one, where she, I think, is trying to figure out where she can do something short of that.</s>BALDWIN: Yes. We will find out February 8. Evan, thank you very much.</s>PEREZ: Thank you.</s>BALDWIN: And now we go to the race for the White House. And Cory Booker and his supporters, the 2020 guessing game is finally over, because today New Jersey's junior senator is adding a new title to a pretty extensive political resume, Democratic presidential candidate.</s>SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What my neighbors are concerned with and I have heard all around the country is that people in America are losing faith that this nation will work for them. They're beginning to believe that too many folks are going to get left out or left behind. They're beginning to believe that the forces that are tearing us apart are stronger than the forces that bond us together as a people, as a country. The people I admire are the people that lead by calling out the best of who we are, and not the worst. So I'm running for president because I believe in us, I believe in these values. I'm going to put them before the American people. Hey, and if that's not what they want, then I won't be the next president of the United States. I know I can do my job as a senator. I have been showing that. And I also know that I can answer the call of what I believe my country is right now, which is leadership that's going to bring us together, and not try to rip us apart. I'm grateful that New Jerseyans pulled together to make sure that that possibility is there. But my focus is running for president of the United States, and I will be running hard and going directly to the people, hand to hand, shaking hands, knocking on doors, in many ways, the way I started my career when I was running for city council. I'm going after the people, and I intend to be the next president of the United States.</s>BALDWIN: So, there he was moments ago speaking outside his home in Newark, New Jersey, the city where he used to be mayor. You heard him say he's taking his message directly to the people, and Booker is set to do that in a big way. He's expected to visit Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire all in the next couple of weeks. And if there is any doubt about just how diverse this year's Democratic presidential field is, I have got a little flashback Friday moment for you. Look at this picture with me. This was the scene in 2015 during the first debate for the then 2016 Democratic candidates. So, from left to right, Jim Webb, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, and Lincoln Chafee, four white men and one white woman. And, gee whiz, this was diverse, a woman. But that was then and this is now. And to those who have officially announced or launched exploratory committees for 2020, my, how things have changed. Michael Smerconish, he's the anchor for CNN's "SMERCONISH," and he's with me now. Seriously, it's like, holy diversity, Batman. Like, look at what's happened now, finally.</s>MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's such a contrast to 2016, as that picture evidences. And I think, Brooke, Hillary Clinton in 2016 cleared that field. Nobody at the outset thought that Bernie Sanders would be able to hang in with her as late and as long as he did. But in contrast, now as we approach 2020, all the Democratic stars are coming out to play. And Joe Biden, perhaps the biggest star of all, is not even in yet. So it's really a remarkable field. And what's very difficult is to try and determine how many different lanes are there on the Democratic side of the aisle, and who will really be competing with whom? And that's very difficult to predict at this stage.</s>BALDWIN: We at CNN caught up with Joe Biden earlier in the week, and he was asked about obviously if he's going to jump in. Even he was saying it's still too early, so TBD on the former vice president. But let's jog back to Senator Cory Booker here, because he was actually just asked. When he was standing there announcing it on the front steps of his house in Newark, he was asked today if he would do away with private health care. And he said no. So now you have all these Democratic candidates, right, and they're all being asked about Medicare for all. So this is -- this is his stance.</s>BOOKER: What I'm going to be fighting for is a system that is there for everyone. Now, I signed up and a big believer in Medicare for all, but I believe that because if we give people a quality public option, that we are going to be able to get more people into the system.</s>BALDWIN: And I'm curious, Michael Smerconish, do you think Senator Booker benefited from watching Senator Harris on CNN Monday night in Iowa? She answered the question, but then she had to kind of clarify her answer the next day. Did he benefit from that, you think?</s>SMERCONISH: I think he definitely did. I think they're all benefiting from one another. And I have still not heard the complete follow-up explanation from Senator Harris as to Jake's question pertaining to insurance companies. I think Medicare for all sounds great in the abstract. It probably means different things to different candidates. And then, of course, you have got Michael Bloomberg there saying, hey, how are we going to pay for this? So there are a lot of competing interests within the Democratic Party this time, a stark contrast to four years ago.</s>BALDWIN: What about just reminding everyone, when Cory Booker was running for the U.S. Senate, it was Jared and Ivanka Trump who fund- raised for him? And do you think his Trump ties could be problematic?</s>SMERCONISH: No more so than Donald Trump donating to Hillary Clinton became problematic for him. How quickly we forget that. And I'm sure from the Trump family perspective they will say it's all about business and maintaining relationships with officeholders that we need in order to transact our business.</s>BALDWIN: What about -- listen, we all want members of Congress, presidents to have the ability to reach across the aisle, the grace to do so. And so Senator Booker and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, I know, have actually really nurtured this close friendship. And this is what the former New Jersey governor actually just said moments ago about his friend Cory Booker's chances.</s>GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Cory Booker, talented, smart, articulate, hope that he stays in this campaign to the roots that I saw him establish in New Jersey. He was someone who was pro-voucher, he was pro-charter school. He was somebody who was tough on crime in the city of Newark. If he stays in that lane and is the articulate, inspirational guy that he is, then I think he's got a legitimate chance to be a serious potential problem for the president in the general election. I like him. He's a friend. We have been friends for 15 years. He's a good person. And I like Cory Booker.</s>BALDWIN: So, Michael, glowing words from this Republican. But he also warned that Booker could go wacky left. Do you think this relationship, though, could help or hurt Senator Booker with Democrats?</s>SMERCONISH: I can't help -- I can't help but watch the footage and think of the hug, although Governor Christie now says it wasn't a hug. I think that's what he says in his new book. But I'm referring, of course, to when President Obama in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy comes in New Jersey, and has that -- has that very warm moment with Chris Christie. And it was at a critical juncture, in the 11th hour of that campaign. And Republicans were like, hey, why are you so close to Barack Obama at this juncture? So it gets complicated, Brooke.</s>BALDWIN: OK. And then, lastly, I know you weren't really interested in talking about Senator Elizabeth Warren, fellow 2020 contender. The Cherokee Nation says she has apologized for taking a DNA test to confirm her Native American heritage. The tribe says that it is encouraged by her actions and it hopes the slurs and mocking will stop. I mean, when will this chapter for her end? Or will Trump make sure it never does?</s>SMERCONISH: Trump will try to make sure that it never does. It should have ended, in my opinion, with an expose by "The Boston Globe" that definitively seemed to answer the question of whether she played that card in order to get hired at my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Harvard Law School. And it was a really great piece of work. She cooperated with it. The faculty members cooperated in interviews. All of those documents pertaining to her hiring were revealed and published. And what they suggested, what they evidence was, that although she's held herself out as a Native American, as a Native American faculty member, she did not do so in order to get hired. Now, it required a 20-minute read-in to get to that conclusion. And in the sound bite world in which we live, it's very hard to convey that. It's much easier for a nickname, a moniker, to stick to her. But I'm an alumnus of that law school. I was very curious to know, when she got hired, was she hired because they wanted a Native American faculty member? And the answer, according to "The Globe," was no. She's had a really hard time in communicating that.</s>BALDWIN: Michael Smerconish, we can't wait to watch you tomorrow morning. As always, a pleasure.</s>SMERCONISH: Thank you.</s>BALDWIN: Watch Michael Smerconish 9:00 a.m. Eastern here on CNN. Thank you. Coming up next: President Trump says there is a good chance he will declare a national emergency in order to receive the money he wants for his border wall -- why he's calling the Capitol Hill negotiations a -- quote -- "waste of time." Plus, an alarming assessment just in from the Pentagon about what could happen if the U.S. pulls completely out of Syria, and the chances that ISIS could regain ground. And, later, the "Empire" star who says he was a victim of a hate crime on the streets of Chicago is speaking out for the very first time -- what Jussie Smollett wants to say to people who have doubted him.