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Trump Again Refers to Fellow Americans as 'The Enemy Within'; Menendez Brothers Case Under Review. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 16, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:07]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Later today, the family of Erik and Lyle Menendez is holding a news conference calling for the brothers' release from prison.

Nearly 35 years after the pair admitted to fatally shooting their parents, prosecutors are reviewing new evidence in the case. It's a letter Erik allegedly wrote to his cousin eight months before the 1989 murders. Erik claimed at the time that his father was raping him. That abuse was central to the brothers' claims of self-defense.

Quote -- and this is from the letter -- "I have been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening. But it's now worse for me."

And the case, of course, fascinated America three decades ago. It has returned to pop culture thanks to a documentary on Netflix. The long- imprisoned brothers describe an abusive relationship with their father that drove them to kill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIK MENENDEZ, CONVICTED FELON: He loved us, but he believed that love needed to be art. So to be loved by him, we had to be worthy of that love and often that meant going through pain.

The belief that I would go to college to get away from what was happening with my father was the most important thing in my life. It drove everything I did. So, when it was taken from me, when my father told me, no, that you are not getting away from me, it was up until that moment the most devastating moment of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is Loni Coombs. She served as a criminal trial prosecutor for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office for 20 years. She was there at the time of the murders and the arrest and prosecution of the two brothers.

Loni, thank you so much for joining us.

What's your reaction to the impact this documentary has had on this case and the fact that it's being reviewed right now? It sounds as though there's a possibility the brothers could be released. LONI COOMBS, FORMER LOS ANGELES COUNTY CRIMINAL PROSECUTOR: Yes, it does sound like that.

And, Jim, it's so interesting to see the impact of this documentary. I call this a modern phenomenon going on in the criminal justice system. It's very new. And case in point, look at the R. Kelly investigation and the prosecution and conviction there. That came about because of a documentary where the victims all came forward and talked about it.

Case in point, this, you have this documentary.

ACOSTA: Yes.

COOMBS: You have the eight-part or nine-part series as well. It brought about a spotlight on this case.

And even the DA, George Gascon, he came out and publicly talked about reviewing this new evidence for the first time in this case. He said, I'm getting a lot of phone calls from my office because of this documentary, because of what Netflix is doing. And he said, I will now review this new evidence.

That new evidence motion had been sitting on his desk for over a year.

ACOSTA: Wow.

COOMBS: But it wasn't until all the attention and the spotlight came from this documentary that he now steps out and says, I'm going to look at this. I'm going to review it and we're going to be in court and we're going to give my decision at that time.

So, huge impact.

ACOSTA: Yes. Yes.

And, Loni, I mean, what do you think about the allegations that are being raised in the documentary about sexual abuse and how all of this is being revisited and as sort of -- I mean, sort of cast a new light on the case, because it does make you feel a great deal of empathy for these brothers.

COOMBS: It does.

And I think also, in our society, we understand sexual abuse so much better, right? Even George Gascon in his press conference says, we understand so much better now that sexual abuse can happen to boys and girls, that look at P. Diddy. Half of the victims alleged there are men as well.

So we understand it better. We understand the dynamics of it, that sometimes it takes years for the victims to be able to talk about the trauma, which might explain why the boys in this case, when we were looking at this back in the -- at the time when this was actually going on, they confessed to their therapist, but they never said that there was sexual abuse. They said, we killed them. We thought about it. We planned it. We tried to cover up.

But they never talked about the sexual abuse until the trial came. So it was like, why did it take so long? Now we understand that better. Now people on TikTok are talking about this. Everyone, it seems like, either knows someone or understands sexual abuse so much better.

And it's something that I think will resonate when you're talking about resentencing. Resentencing, you're looking at mitigation. You're looking at, how they paid their dues to society and does it seem more fair that they get a different sentence?

Because, remember, Jim, they are sentenced to life without the possibility of parole...

ACOSTA: Wow.

COOMBS: ... meaning they're never going to get out, based on the sentence they have right now.

ACOSTA: Wow. Yes.

And a lot of celebrities have gotten involved in this. The actress Rosie O'Donnell says she has spoken to the brothers. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE O'DONNELL, COMEDIAN: I called them after I spoke to Mark last night about doing this appearance, and I said, what's going on? And they said, we -- they're hesitant to hope.

After being in jail and prison for 35 years and being abused for his childhood up to that point, these men don't have a lot of bandwidth to hope for what exactly happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And, Loni, it sounds like there should be some hope for the brothers that this is going to get revisited, that something may happen here.

[11:35:07]

COOMBS: Yes, Jim, it's kind of like a perfect storm is coming together right now.

And if you look at what George Gascon, the DA, is sort of telegraphing right now, he said in his press conference. I have already resentenced 300 people. The law only went into effect for resentencing in California in the last year. So, in a year, he's already re sentenced 300 people.

He talked about understanding that boys can also be abused. He also talked about, he said, I don't think they should spend life in prison. He's also talking about making his decision before the actual date in court, which is at the end of November. He's talking about making a decision at the end of October, which is, interestingly enough just before his reelection that's coming up, which he's kind of in a battle there.

ACOSTA: Right.

COOMBS: And he's having this press conference. He called this press conference today, bringing all the family members together so that they can make their voice heard and show everyone that, look, the family members of the victims are supporting that these men get out of prison.

ACOSTA: Yes, and the L.A. DA, George Gascon, he's pushing back against any claims that his reelection campaign is driving this. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GASCON (D), LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If you think that Netflix is somewhat conspiring with me to release this documentary that they have been working on for years, let me just put it this way. There would have been a much easier path to being elected and getting reelected than the path that I have taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, what do you think? I mean, I can't imagine George not wanting to give this a second look in light of this documentary. I mean, if you're the DA, how can you not take a second look at it?

COOMBS: Yes, I mean, I think that's fairness, right?

I mean, as prosecutors, we not only want to get convictions, but we also make want to make sure that things are done fairly. That's also our duty. And when you have something like this, I think, and you also have the new pieces of evidence that the defense are claiming, you have the letter, you also have another alleged victim who has come forward and said when he was 14 years old, Jose Menendez molested him as well.

This is new evidence that I think should be reviewed either to give them a new trial, so that this new evidence can be put forth in front of a jury, or to resentence them under the sentencing law. There's two different ways that they can get relief here.

ACOSTA: And, ultimately, this is going to come down to a judge?

COOMBS: Correct. That's correct.

ACOSTA: Yes.

COOMBS: The DA is supposed to respond to the court on both these motions, but it is up to the judge. So people think, oh, George Gascon could just let them out of prison. That's not true.

ACOSTA: Right.

COOMBS: It has to go before a judge and the judge will make that final determination.

ACOSTA: All right, Loni Coombs, thank you very much. Appreciate your insight.

COOMBS: You bet.

ACOSTA: All right, coming up, we're getting new headlines from Donald Trump's town hall in front of an all-woman audience. What the former president said about transgender athletes, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:19]

ACOSTA: All right, all this hour, we've been monitoring a town hall with Donald Trump in front of an all-woman audience over on FOX.

We're getting some new headlines. And he has been doubling down on his comments about the enemy within. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are a party of sound bites.

They're -- somebody asked me, can they be brought together? It was really -- I never thought -- really I wasn't thinking, like, they could, because they are -- they're very, very different. And it is the enemy from within. And they're very dangerous.

They're Marxists and communists and fascists and they're sick. I use a guy like Adam Schiff, because they made up the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. It took two years to solve the problem. Absolutely nothing was done wrong, et cetera, et cetera. They're dangerous for our country. We have China. We have Russia. We have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled.

The more difficult are, you know, the Pelosis. These people, they're so sick, and they're so evil. If they would spend their time trying to make America great again, we would have -- it would be so easy to make this country great.

But when I heard about that, they were saying, I was, like, threatening. I'm not threatening anybody. They're the ones doing the threatening. They do phony investigations. I have been investigated more than Alphonse Capone. He was the greatest gangster.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Oh, my goodness.

TRUMP: No, it's true.

FAULKNER: We have got a question.

TRUMP: No, but think of it. It's called weaponization of government. It's a terrible thing.

FAULKNER: All right.

TRUMP: They're the threat to democracy.

FAULKNER: This is a question...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Let's bring in CNN political commentator Maria Cardona, who's a Democratic strategist, and Republican strategist, Katie Frost.

Katie, let me go to you first.

Are you comfortable with Donald Trump referring to fellow Americans as the enemy?

KATIE FROST, FORMER TED CRUZ AIDE: Well, I would respectfully put that question back on to my Democratic colleague here, because we are hearing this kind of rhetoric constantly coming out of the Democratic Party, talking about how President Trump and his supporters are a threat to democracy, they are an enemy of the United States.

There have been some very disturbing things that are constantly being said. And I would also say that, if you are not putting the interests of this country and our citizens first...

ACOSTA: Katie, what prominent Democrat -- what prominent Democrat can you name who has described Donald Trump as the enemy?

FROST: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett from Texas, she went out there and she called President Trump and his supporters, she said they were thugs. They're violent extremists. They're gangs who are destroying our country.

We have heard this kind of rhetoric constantly talking about how President Trump and his supporters are a threat to our country, when at the same time we're looking at administration that is not protecting our country.

ACOSTA: Yes, but, Katie...

FROST: If you are not protecting our country from foreign adversaries, if you're not protecting our country from the drugs and the constant fentanyl that's coming across our border, how can you be counted on to protect our country when you're not doing your job?

[11:45:09]

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: It sounds like you're OK with calling...

(CROSSTALK)

FROST: I'm sorry? ACOSTA: It sounds like you're OK with calling your fellow Americans the enemy?

That's what I'm asking.

FROST: I don't believe my fellow Americans are the enemy. I believe -- I do not believe my fellow Americans are enemies.

But I think it's very sad day for our country when my fellow Americans are siding with the people who want to destroy our country, our enemies in China, our enemies in Iran, people who are bringing fentanyl into this country. They are getting what they want under a Biden/Harris administration. And I find that very sad.

ACOSTA: Just a quick fact-check. Most fentanyl comes through legal ports of entry. That's something we have fact-checked 100 gazillion times on CNN.

But let me get a response from you, Maria.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And the Biden administration has had record amounts of arrests at the border of people bringing in fentanyl. That's the first thing.

The second thing is, it's a sad day in our country when our Republican colleagues cannot even call out something that is dangerous, something that is un-American that their own leader is actually promulgating, and that is calling fellow Democratic officials, elected leaders enemies of the people.

And they are going to be turning themselves into pretzels trying to justify this kind of violent rhetoric that has led to violence. Let's just look at what happened to Speaker Pelosi's husband. That was not an accident.

Let's just look at what happened to the massive shooting in El Paso, Texas. That was not an accident. All of that is promulgated by one Donald Trump. So you will not see any Democratic official ever calling other Americans enemies of the people.

You're only seeing that and hearing that from Donald Trump. And when the other side tries to flip it, that's desperation, because they cannot justify something that is so dangerous and so un-American.

ACOSTA: And -- but, Maria, let me ask you this because it came out in the Bob Woodward book that the former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mar Milley, has described Donald Trump as -- quote --"fascist to the core."

Now, I'm not taking up for one side or the other. I'm just pointing out that one of the things that Republicans will say is that that kind of rhetoric gets out of control too. Your sense of that?

What's your response when you hear that criticism? CARDONA: Well, fascism is actually an ideology. And so when you call

somebody a fascist, how is that different from Donald Trump calling Democrats Marxists or socialists?

But that doesn't even bother me. He can lie about that. Donald Trump can lie about calling Democrats socialists. He's been doing that from the get-go. The troublesome aspect here is when Donald Trump calls them enemies of the people and talks about wanting to weaponize the military against them.

I mean, let's just imagine, visualize exactly what he is saying here. That, Jim -- you know this. You and I have talked about this before. That kind of talk comes from dictators, strongmen around the world who want to get rid of their own democracies, because they want to impose their own will.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Yes, Katie, I mean, the second part of this is, people toss around the term enemy, as Donald Trump has, but this talk of using the military, using the National Guard to go after political opponents.

Your response to that. Are you comfortable with that?

FROST: I want to go back to something real quick, Maria, is saying earlier.

She was trying to tie the unfortunate attack on Paul Pelosi somehow to President Trump's rhetoric, which is quite a stretch. Someone who was having a mental health crisis is somehow attached to President Trump's rhetoric.

But, at the same time, my Democratic colleagues do not want President Biden and, more importantly, Vice President Harris to be any way held accountable for the deaths that have happened on their watch because of their failed leadership.

We have 13 service members who should be alive today, but they tragically died in Afghanistan because of Vice President Harris.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Yes, Katie, all right, but that's not -- but can you just respond to my question?

FROST: Jim, please let me finish my point here for a moment.

ACOSTA: Well, no, I can't because you're not even answering my question.

My question was about using the military or the National Guard against political opponents. Shouldn't that be a red line that we don't cross as a country?

FROST: I do not believe we're going to -- I do not believe we're going to be seeing that happen. We have already seen a lot of red lines that we never thought would be crossed before in our country happening under the Biden/Harris administration.

I didn't think we would see the Department of Justice so weaponized as we have seen to go after Republicans. People who just wanted to have basic questions have been...

[11:50:05]

ACOSTA: And what do you mean by that? What do you mean by that, weaponized?

FROST: I'm saying, here in Georgia, my home state -- what is happening in Fulton County in my home state here in Georgia with these people who are being under investigation because they simply held a meeting and wanted to ask questions about the election.

They are now under indictment. President Trump is being targeted by the Department of Justice...

ACOSTA: The allegations go further than that, yes.

FROST: ... in ways that no one else would have been if it wasn't for the fact that...

ACOSTA: All right.

FROST: Jim, respectfully, if it wasn't for the fact that he was running for president, you and I both know a lot of these things wouldn't be happening.

Jack Smith is trying to get all kinds of special exceptions so he can go after President Trump for political reasons.

ACOSTA: Well, these investigations started before we got into the campaign season, and he -- all right, he did try to strong-arm the secretary of state of Georgia to overturn the election results.

CARDONA: Yes. You know, Jim...

ACOSTA: I don't have time, Maria, to get back to you, but, I mean, we do have to stick to the facts.

All right, Maria, Katie, thanks so much. We will be right back.

CARDONA: Thanks, Jim.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:00]

ACOSTA: All right, finally this hour: The pandas are back.

The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., is now home to two giant pandas. Bao Li and Qing Bao arrived on Tuesday after their long trip from China. This is the first time the U.S. capital has welcomed a new set of furry diplomats in 24 years. Pandas have long held the public's fascination. And officials at the

National Zoo are hoping that drives up some ticket sales. The pandas will be in quarantine, we understand, for the next 30 days, and then the public will be able to get their first look at the pandas come January.

I will be there as soon as that happens. When that happens, I will be there.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I'm Jim Acosta.

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts after a short break.

Have a great day.