House Dems Plan to Focus on Obstruction, Russian Connections During Mueller's Testimony; Joe Biden, Kamala Harris To Face Off Again in Debate; Dangerous Heat Wave Grips Much of U.S.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The roster is now set for CNN's two-night Democratic presidential debate.</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Who's best able to take on Donald Trump? People will be judging them by that.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A real ideological difference will be on display. The stakes are really high.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They started speaking very quickly. I disagree with it.</s>REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The president did not name the individual. He said, if you do not like this country, you can leave.</s>SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): He allowed the chant to continue. He owns that chant.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday, July 19, 6 a.m. here in New York. What a week we've had.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's only been a week?</s>CAMEROTA: And it's only just beginning to be Friday.</s>BERMAN: I know.</s>CAMEROTA: So to begin with, we have breaking news for you. CNN has learned the game plan for House Democrats to get the most out of their time with Special Counsel Robert Mueller when he testifies before Congress next week. Their strategy is to focus on five episodes of potential obstruction of justice by President Trump as laid out in the Mueller report. Democrats also plan to press Mueller on the contacts the Trump orbit had with Russia and WikiLeaks. So we have all the reporting, and we will lay it out for you.</s>BERMAN: Also this morning, we're getting remarkable new reporting about what caused the president to try to distance from the "Send her back" chants at his rally in North Carolina, the ones he paused to allow and, yes, he is clearly and demonstrably lying when he claims he tried to stop the chants. But we're learning the inside story behind the attempted retreat involves Ivanka Trump, the vice president, senior Republicans in Congress, and there's even one report, the first lady. Also, we have a rematch. The lineups are set for the CNN debates. Former Vice President Joe Biden will share the stage with Senator Kamala Harris again. Will he be ready this time? The other night, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, they go head to head. That will be interesting. We're going to begin this morning, though, with our exclusive reporting on what Democrats are planning for Robert Mueller when he testifies on Capitol Hill. Lauren Fox has all these new details for us. Lauren, what have you learned?</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, John. A big week ahead and Democrats really banking on the fact that this shifts public opinion. Now, the House Judiciary Committee planning to focus on five areas of alleged obstruction of justice, including the president telling Don McGahn to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, as well as Trump telling McGahn to deny publicly that he told him to fire Mueller; Trump telling Corey Lewandowski to tell the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to limit the investigation, and telling Lewandowski to tell Sessions he could be fired if he didn't; as well as alleged witness tampering of Paul Manafort, the president's former campaign chairman, and others. The House Intelligence Committee, they're going to focus on contacts with Russians and WikiLeaks. And Republicans and Democrats haven't been wasting any time behind the scenes. They've held separate mock hearings, trying to prepare for how they're going to script questions and question Robert Mueller. And as one Judiciary Committee aide told my colleagues, Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb, quote, "I have been involved in a hundred hearings, and we have never prepared for one the way we have prepared for this one." So obviously, a lot riding on next week as House Democrats are hoping that this shifts public opinion in a way that the written Mueller report just couldn't -- John and Alisyn.</s>CAMEROTA: Lauren, thank you so much for all that reporting and previewing it for us just now. So let's talk about it and so much more. Joining us are Errol Louis, CNN political commentator. We also have Frank Bruni, CNN contributor and opinion columnist for "The New York Times"; and Carrie Cordero, CNN legal analyst and former counsel to the U.S. assistant attorney general. So it's very interesting to see how they are tackling this, Errol. You know? They've been busy behind the scenes, it turns out, these different committees. Because they're having these mock hearings, where somebody is playing Robert Mueller, and they're trying to figure out exactly their strategy for how to elicit something out of him, because you know, he's pretty stone-faced when it comes to sharing things. So I'll just pull up the full screen one more time. Here's what they plan to highlight in the Judiciary. The time that he told McGahn to fire Mueller. The time that he told McGahn to publicly deny that he told him to fire Mueller. Telling Corey Lewandowski to tell the attorney general, Sessions, to limit the investigation. Telling Corey Lewandowski to tell Sessions that if he does not meet with Lewandowski, the president will fire him. And then alleged witness tampering of Manafort, Cohen, and others.</s>ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it sounds like a great idea. I get a queasy feeling about it, I've got to be honest with you. What they're trying to do, which makes some sense, is to try and bring the public along. They know that most people didn't read through the Mueller report. They know that most people don't necessarily get into the nuances, the back and forth. What did the president do? Is it illegal, and so forth. Can he be held accountable for it? On the other hand, most hearings, if you've ever sat through one, are deadly dull. And I -- I certainly appreciate them attempting to sort of really make it more palatable to people. I just don't know if it's going to work. You know, because there are going to be a lot of people in this modern age outside of the room. This isn't Watergate. This isn't 1972. This isn't 1974. This is -- this is going to be all kinds of tweets that are happening. The president might get involved. The people who are aligned with the president might get involved. The Republicans on the committee are going to try and disrupt everything that they try to do. It's going to be really, I think, quite a spectacle.</s>BERMAN: They have a game plan, though. At least they're trying to make it seem like they have a game plan, and they are rehearsing, which is something new. I haven't seen that from members of Congress before, before a hearing. I can't remember the last time that happened. Carrie, the interesting thing to me, that list that Alisyn called for a second ago is very interesting. But also the notion that the Democrats will ask Robert Mueller the question, "If an ordinary citizen had engaged in these activities, would he be indicted?" Because that's the big question here. That may be the singular question here. But how will Robert Mueller answer it?</s>CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I mean, that is the big question, is how he'll answer that question, John. All indications based on his public statement so far is that he may not answer that question. He didn't answer the question in the report. He said that, based on a doctrine of fairness, and because a president can't be indicted, for those reasons they would not make the recommendation in the report. And he has said publicly that he is not going to go beyond what is in the report. So the question is, is No. 1, are they going to really ask that direct question and risk him saying, "I'm not answering the question. I'm not drawing the conclusion"? Or are they going to simply go through the different specific acts of obstruction that you guys have listed that they've released and then say, "OK. Well, then this is the information that the committee has to make a decision as to whether they're going to open an impeachment hearing." I think they have to ask the question. You know, we'll see whether or not he goes anything beyond the report. So far, it looks like he won't.</s>BERMAN: One more thing.</s>CORDERO: But you never know in a live hearing at the time.</s>BERMAN: One more thing, Carrie, that I find interesting and perhaps clever, if the Democrats really are going to do this. The fact that -- put up P-101 again -- the fact that several of the questions in areas they want to hone in on deal with Corey Lewandowski, to me. That might be clever, because it -- Corey Lewandowski is one of the few people who can't claim any kind of privilege at all. If Democrats want him to testify, he has to. He never worked in the White House, period. So if they can get more color surrounding him, that might provide them with some opportunities later on.</s>CORDERO: It is -- he is someone that could potentially come in and wouldn't be subject to any other privileges, but I tend to think that, if they were going to do that, they should have done it first. It's going to be hard to overcome whatever happens in Bob Mueller's hearing. I think that the Mueller hearing is the one that is either going to change minds; both among Democrats on the committee and, potentially, if there's -- if there's one or two Republicans who are thinking about it, whether or not to authorize an impeachment inquiry going forward. I have a hard time seeing that they, you know, might draw out a little bit more information about Lewandowski. And then we'll see what happens if he comes and testifies. I think this is the big decision maker in this hearing.</s>CAMEROTA: Frank, we've got to move on, but very quickly, will these hearings reanimate the Russia scandal for Americans?</s>FRANK BRUNI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm doubtful because of the distance of these hearings from when the report came out and from when the attorney general did such masterful spin for the president.</s>BERMAN: The rematch.</s>BRUNI: Yes.</s>BERMAN: Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris. There was a big draw on CNN last night you might have seen.</s>CAMEROTA: I did. It was so -- our colleagues who did this. Brianna Keilar, Victor Blackwell, Ana Cabrera were so -- It was so exciting, actually, to watch it. And they were masterful in how they did it without screwing it up, as I might have, actually.</s>BERMAN: Exactly. And the Knicks still aren't getting Zion Williamson. Even after this draw. That's not happening.</s>CAMEROTA: Weird.</s>BERMAN: Frank, the rematch. How big of a deal is this for the former vice president, facing Senator Kamala Harris again? What does he need to do?</s>BRUNI: Well, I mean, it's everything. It's an enormous deal. What he needs to do is not seem so hapless, you know, and surprised and meek, as he did last time. But I think it's a really tough debate for Joe Biden. Because if he goes after Kamala Harris, I don't think that's a good look for him. But if he is as passive as he was in the first debate, I think the questions that have been raised about him are going to intensify. So I think it's a huge debate for him. But, you know, it's a huge debate for her, too. Everyone was so excited, was so taken, noticed in such a big way that moment. How does she follow that up? How does she do that again? And then, of course, on the other night, I think almost as interesting is what happens between senators Warren and Sanders. They are going after many of the same voters. A lot of voters don't understand the distinctions between them, and that is going to be very, very interesting to watch.</s>CAMEROTA: Errol, what do you see in these lineups?</s>LOUIS: It's going to be interesting to see that -- in that second panel, what the other candidates do. Everybody's going to want a Kamala Harris moment. Cory Booker is not going to stand there idly, you know. Bill de Blasio is not going to stand there at the end and hope that he gets a chance to speak up. I think there's going to be a lot of back and forth. There are going to be a lot of people trying to stage those moments, because it paid off so handsomely for her. People are going to say, "Look, if I come in with a designated target, a great line of rhetoric, a line of questioning that's going to lead me right to this point and if I can get them to break format just a little bit, I can have a Kamala Harris moment and then raise millions of dollars."</s>CAMEROTA: And they're practicing for that. Right? Aren't they?</s>LOUIS: I'm sure they are. I'm sure they are.</s>BERMAN: You, sir, are no Kamala Harris. Someone's going to try to say that, I'm sure. By the way, if they butt in, though, they get their time docked and they lose candy (ph). There are new rules.</s>LOUIS: That's new. I've done dozens and dozens of debates. I've never heard of that. It's going to be interesting to see.</s>BERMAN: Does Elizabeth Warren differentiate herself from Bernie Sanders, Frank?</s>BRUNI: You mean has she or will she?</s>BERMAN: Will she? What happens there?</s>BRUNI: I think she will, but -- but I don't think people understand exactly what the differences are. I mean, I think Bernie Sanders is to the left of Elizabeth Warren. And I think there are a lot of people who think she'd be a better general election candidate. And I think one of the best things she can do for herself in this debate is quiet some of the concerns about whether she would be a good general election candidate, whether she has just enough moderation in her, just a little bit enough of the center in her, to go onto that -- to that phase of the contest. I think if I were her, that's what I would be trying to do. But of course, the temptation is just to kind of squabble over the most progressive wing of the party.</s>CAMEROTA: All right. Frank, Errol, Carrie, thank you very much.</s>BERMAN: So this morning a dangerous and potentially deadly heat wave. About 2/3 of the country will suffer temperatures of 95 degrees or higher over the next few days. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers with the forecast -- Chad.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: You showed the lid just like putting a lid on a pot, John. It is going to be hot. The heat and humidity will not be able to go up into the atmosphere because of this heat dome. And we have millions and millions, over a hundred million people in this warning area. Feels like this afternoon 117 in Kansas City. It felt like 114 in Omaha. And the heat now is to the northeast. New York, you had a good day yesterday, but it is not so good today. Feels like 98. Get away from or into the cities, your temperatures are going to feel more like 105. Twenty or more cities will break record highs today, record highs. Not even heat index. When you add in the heat, it's going to feel like 105 in New York for tomorrow. And we're going to push 110 in Washington, D.C., for this weekend. A lot of festivities going on in D.C. this weekend. But good news at the end of the tunnel. There is cooler air coming in next week. It is much cooler, to the tune of 20 degrees feel like temperature cooler. We'll take that. But just get through the next couple, because it's going to be a very hot and dangerous weekend in places.</s>CAMEROTA: Everybody needs to be careful. Thank you very much, Chad. OK.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>CAMEROTA: Ivanka Trump, the vice president, even reportedly the first lady, Melania, all connected to the president's retreat over the "Send her back" chants. So we have the inside scoop for you on how this went down, what they said to him. Maggie Haberman from "The New York Times" joins us next.