Rudy Guiliani Gets Smacked Down; FLOTUS Hasn't Discussed Anything With Guiliani; Trump Wants To Hate; Trump Versus NFL
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. 11:00 p.m. here on the East Coast, live with all the new developments for you tonight. The President's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, getting smacked down by the first lady's spokeswoman after he dragged Melania Trump into the Stormy Daniels saga. And then there's the apparently never ending story of EPA chief, Scott Pruitt and all the questionable things he is asked his staff to do for him. Wait till you hear the latest on that. Here to discuss now, CNN Political Commentator, Amanda Carpenter and Alice Stewart and also Ryan Lizaa, CNN political analyst and the new chief political correspondent for Esquire Magazine. Fancy. Congratulations.</s>RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Don.</s>LEMON: Good to see all of you. Welcome to the program. Amanda, President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, continued his attack on Stormy Daniels. Telling CNN's Dana Bash, he said, if you're a feminist and you support the porn industry you should turn in your credentials. Now, Giuliani is attacking Daniels on her work in the adult film industry. But his client, President Trump has appeared in three soft core porn videos, he appeared in Playboy films in 1994, 2000 -- 2001. He wasn't naked, though, but he was in the movies. So what is this -- what is the strategy here?</s>AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank god he wasn't naked. Sorry, I just had to laugh on that one. The strategy here is to describe Stormy Daniels' credibility. And while, he is doing that, he is ignoring three big questions that I think are raised by this case. To take this case seriously you have to take the sex out of it. And Stormy Daniels is alleging the three big things. The first of which she was led to sign this MDA under false pretenses. The second thing is that she was bullied and intimidated by, you know, an unknown man in a parking lot. Her lawyer says there are very incriminating tapes with threats by Michael Cohen that will come out at some point in time. And lastly, all this was done to hide information from the voters before a major election, and also the possible that Michael Cohen and Donald Trump might have more agreements like that out there with women. We didn't learn about the agreement they stuck with Karen McDougal until all that came out and she finally got released from her MDA with the National Inquirer. So, there are important elements to this case, but Rudy Giuliani was keeping us focused on the sex, on the sliminess of it, because he can't address these questions.</s>ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And Don, I think just as troubling as feminist who support the porn industry so are chauvinists who support the porn industry. And if you ask me $130,000 check for hush money is in some ways is supporting the porn industry. And I think Rudy Giuliani needs to think about all of the things that his own client is accused of before he goes spouting off about porn stars and those who supports the industry. I think more than anything the advice we often give on campaigns or and administrations is stay in your lane. And I think Rudy would be better serve off sticking to legal issues, stay away from talking about Melania, Kim Jong-un and porn stars.</s>LEMON: That is what is known as a mic drop, so good-bye everybody. We will see you tomorrow. That was actually incredible. That was a mic drop moment. $130,000, if that is not supporting the porn industry, then what is? Right?</s>STEWART: It does, Don. Sad but true.</s>LEMON: So, Ryan, Guiliani continued to attack Stormy Daniels credibility today telling CNN that he said, our real point about her is that she is not just generally un-credible, she is un-credible from the point of view of wanting to get money. She is a con artist. So, is he using the same tactic that Stormy Daniels that he is with the Mueller investigation, just saying anything that try to discredit the opponent in the public arena?</s>LIZZA: Yes, he is trying to discredit her and frankly in a pretty vulgar way. So far what she is alleged has been -- seems pretty credible to me so far. I don't see anything that she has alleged that people have said is just beyond the pale or not supported by the known facts. You know, I think she is really -- she and Avenatti have really gotten under the skin of the President and his team. But the bigger question is why is Giuliani speaking out on so many of these peripheral issues? Right? I'm sure everybody has their opinion on the Stormy case, just to let you know, multiple sides.</s>LEMON: Gives less content.</s>LIZZA: But as far as I know the guy was hired to deal with the Mueller investigation, right? He was hired to help negotiate some kind of an agreement with Mueller about this interview. He was hired to sort of get the President out of the perilous situation he is in with respect to the Special Counsel. And he keeps popping off on all of these other peripheral issues that have nothing to do, as far as I can tell, with his actual job.</s>LEMON: Yes. So, yesterday, Giuliani says that Melania Trump believes her husband's denials of an affair with Stormy Daniels. Watch this.</s>RUDY GUILIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: She believe in her husband, she know it is not true, I done even think there is sight suspicion that is true, when you -- excuse me -- when you look at Stormy Daniels. I know Donald Trump and -- look at his three wives, right? Beautiful women, classy women, women of great substance. Stormy Daniels?</s>CARPENTER: This is just like on the campaign when women accused Donald Trump of misconduct and he is like, well, look at those women. But can we get one thing clear? Donald Trump was seen hanging out with beautiful women who took off their clothes, whether they were porn stars, whether they were playmates, whether they were models, whether he owned their rights to their bodies in a beauty pageant. That is what he did, that is what he was into for most of his life and didn't make a big secret about it. And so for Rudy Giuliani to say oh, I can't believe those women take off their clothes, well, you hung out with Donald Trump for all that time, you knew what he was into. And so there is such low class women, why did Donald Trump have a bad judgement to be hanging out with them all the time. How about Rudy Giuliani answer that question.</s>LEMON: But Alice, listen, Melania's spokesperson is pushing back saying I don't believe Mrs. Trump has ever discussed her thoughts on anything with Giuliani. Was speaking for Melania, a big mistake by Guiliani?</s>STEWART: Certainly, you don't mess with Melania, you don't mess with the first lady. In my view, Melania has done a good job of maintaining her dignity. And at times when this has really been in the headlines and front and center on top of every news show and above the fold, she has maintained her independence and stayed away and driven to events aside from him in order to keep her composure and keep her distance and maintain some level of dignity and privacy in this. And it's her decision how she wants to respond and hers alone. And I think Rudy was way out of line to speak on this and talk about something he clearly knew absolutely nothing about. But as our colleague Dana Bash has said, she has spoken with him now. He acknowledges he hasn't interviewed her about it, --</s>LEMON: Let me put up the quote here. There it is. You're right he said he had not interviewed. Go on, I am sorry.</s>STEWART: All the more reason for him not to be talking out of school and this is difficult enough for her. You know, my heart goes out to her or any woman in that situation. And I think let her speak for herself. And if she doesn't want to talk about it, which she clearly doesn't, then don't talk about it. And once again, clearly Rudy needs to put blinders on and focus on at his task at hand which is being the president's private attorney, specifically with the Mueller matter and leave everything else to the experts.</s>LEMON: Here's a quote what he told Dana, if we can put that up on the screen. There it is. Yes, I believe that she knows him well enough to know this one is, what's the word, fakakta? So here is my question, Ryan. You know, he was saying, of it is a strategy for misinformation and you answered that question just, but can it be that Rudy Guiliani just love the spotlight. He says anything then the President has realized that this has becomes a distraction, so he just allows him to do it. Not that it's a strategy. It is just sort of stumble into -- oh look, he is out there saying a bunch of crazy thing and the media is writing about and not paying attention to the actual story and what is going on here at the White House. What do you think, Ryan?</s>LIZZA: I think that is right. I think Rudy is absolutely loving this moment in the sun. He loves the idea of just defending the President in this full throated way, in a way that he knows Trump for the most part probably likes, right? These guys are about the same age. They've known each other in New York politics for a long time. They have a sort of similar wavelength. I think he realizes he can get away with a lot. And it might cause, you know, White House aides to roll their eyes and us in the media and the pundits to sort of be outraged. But for the most part Trump likes, you know, people who sort of get down in the gutter a little bit. But, I mean, I probably shouldn't say this, Don, but this idea that Donald Trump would not be interested in Stormy Daniels is because she is a porn star, I mean does anyone buy that? That is like saying, you know, Chris Christie wouldn't be interested in, you know, a hamburger. It's just not credible, right? It's kind of on brand for Donald Trump, if I'm not mistaken.</s>LEMON: OK, sorry. Anyway.</s>LIZZA: I shouldn't have said that.</s>LEMON: You should stick with your first instinct. I'm sorry, I just can't believe you said it. Anyway. So and I'm not laughing at him. I just can't believe that you said it. Let's talk about Scott Pruitt before we go here, all right. So, this is some of the scandals, Pruitt arranged a bargain deal for rent in D.C. He was looking to buy a discounted mattress from the Trump hotel. And Politico reports said he raised eyebrows for frequenting the White House mess, bothering the White House staff, he was trying to get a chick-fillet franchise for his wife. The EPA has spent millions on around the clock security detail. He had dinner with a Vatican official accused of sexual abuse and that is not even half of it. Amanda, I mean I want that job, because you can do anything.</s>CARPENTER: There's something weird going on here. Here's what blows my mind, you are cheap enough to want a discount mattress from a hotel, that probably hundreds of people had slept on and yet you blown thousands of taxpayer dollars on vanity pens for the EPA. I mean, it's weird what he is doing. And I don't understand why there's such a high tolerance for grift just because he does good job slashing regulations. I promise you there is another Republican somewhere in America that can effectively run the EPA without turning the agency into a personal concierge service. Somewhere you can find it. We don't actually had to put up with that.</s>STEWART: That has been said, Don, to Amanda's point, he is executing the policies in an agency that Donald Trump specifically wanted changes made, reducing federal regulations, pulling out of the Paris climate deal, sharing the President's views on global warming and climate change. And these are policies that are not popular amongst many people who are looking into this and reporting on this. And so he is certainly under the spotlight. That laundry list of things you just played, many of those are very, very troubling and certainly worthy of scrutiny. But now we're getting to the point where staffers are talking about how they had to get him a granola bar. If I had, you know, a story every time I had to do something for someone I worked for that seemed menial, but you do that. You do things for your boss, when things need to get done, but this large thing where he has profiting off -- potentially his office need to be looked at. But, we are getting to the level when we are talking about certainly earns that staffers have to do for him, but he is not going anywhere I don't see, because he is executing what the President wants him to do.</s>LEMON: OK. See you all, now I want to -- I am trying to figure out if it's a granola bar or a Big Mac or a Whopper later. So, we'll see. Or maybe a single from Wendy's or may be some Chic-fillet, we will see. Thank you all. Have a good night.</s>LIZZA: Thanks, Don.</s>CARPENTER: Thanks.</s>STEWART: Thank you.</s>LEMON: When we come back a former Senate Intel Staffer indicted for lying to the FBI about his contacts with reporters. I'm going to get Congressman Eric Swalwell to weigh in on that next.