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Russia Had Wiretap on Bombing Suspect; Russia Intercepted Jihad Communication; Furlough Lifted

Aired April 27, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. This is the top of the hour.

I'm getting some new information here, it's just coming across the wire and I want to read it. And this is according to CNN sources here.

It says a U.S. official with knowledge after the investigation said Russia intercepted a communication in 2011 between the mother of the accused Boston bombers and someone who may have been one of her sons, discussing jihad. Again, Russia intercepted a communication in 2007 between the mother of the accused Boston marathon bombers and someone who may have been one of her sons discussing jihad.

The source described the conversation as vague. The official says the Russians turned over the intercept to the FBI in the last few days. The source was not aware for a reason for the delay and did not offer an opinion of whether it would be -- would have given the FBI enough reason to justify a closer look at Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

There's a little more information here but I want to get to our Tom Fuentes who has information on this, and also our Susan Candiotti, who is standing by in Devens, Mass.

But, first, let's go to Tom.

Tom, what does this tell you that there was -- there was an intercept of a conversation here? Where does this take this conversation now?

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Well it just was received in the last couple of days that they intercepted the conversation. The shame is that, you know, in 2007 when the first letter came from the Russians, the investigation was conducted at that time, they did not provide the underlying basis for why they believed Tamerlan or the younger son was being radicalized. So, there was no way to know were they picking up rumors on the street or was there some for definite information. That doesn't come out until this week when they finally say guess what, we had a wiretap.

Now, the FBI going through phone records and Internet records would have seen that Tamerlan is talking to him mother. So you wouldn't normally expect that the mother and the son are going to be talking jihad and all of that. So, no information about that was furnished to the FBI back at the time the investigation was run.

And then, when the FBI says we're going to have to close this, we've done everything we can do, please give us more information, they asked twice for more information. The Russians don't provide it.

The letter that goes to the CIA later is the identical letter as the FBI. So there's no new information or new threat. It's just that they decided to simultaneously send them out and they came through different tracks.

LEMON: OK.

FUENTES: So the CIA didn't have anything to do with this. But no one knew this until this week.

LEMON: OK. Tom, stand by.

And to get this on, because again it is coming in. The person who got this is our national correspondent Susan Candiotti who is breaking the story.

Susan, we have previously reported that something similar that the FBI said it is conducting an investigation, including an interview with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011, after Russia expressed concerns. But this certainly is something new here, whole new level.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is, because as Tom was explaining as well, this is information that the FBI said it did not have back in 2011. Now, would it have made a difference back then? It may very well have. Again these conversations were vague but at least the FBI said at the time it didn't have much to chew on.

Now, remember, the FBI did interview Tamerlan and did interview the mother and did, as a matter of fact, enter at least their names into a federal database.

But this could have made a difference. No one is saying that it definitely would have, but it certainly seems to provide more information or would have given them more information than they had before. At this point, we may never know.

And there's also no reason at this time for why the Russians only now are providing that information to the FBI. But, perhaps in time we'll learn more about the timing of this as well. Certainly Russia and the United States have been cooperating since this happened, offering cooperation, the Russians have, for whatever they could do to help with this investigation. And we know that the FBI has also been in Russia asking questions of the parents of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar as well -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. So, Susan Candiotti getting that information. Susan, I'm going to talk to you a little bit about why you're in Devens, Massachusetts. You're at this prison facility now, where the suspect is being held.

But one quick question to Tom before I get back to Susan here. So, Russia intercepted the 2011 communication with bombers' mother discussing jihad. So, in the simplest terms, what does this mean for the investigation? Because they intercepted, does it mean anything? It appears that the family was on some sort of watch list, especially the older brother. The mother had been questioned. She had some charges against her in Massachusetts.

So, now, they intercepted her possibly talk talking to her son about jihad. Is this incriminating for the younger brother who is now at the facility where Susan is?

FUENTES: Well, we're not sure which brother exactly had the conversation with the mother. But I think the key point here is that the Russians are wiretapping the mother. Why is that? So that would have been helpful to know if they have a reason to believe she is involved in jihad, maybe she is helping her son get radicalized.

And we're looking for outsiders -- outside of the family, because she's been saying in an interview what an angel her boy is. And now, we find out that the Russians two years ago were wiretapping her.

So, second of all, it tells you if they have so much coverage on her at the time, why don't they pick up when the son comes back to Russia. They would have heard them discussing, you would think, hey, mom, I'm coming to visit, hey, dad, I'm coming to visit. We don't hear about that either.

So, there's a lot of information that's not told to the FBI at a time when it would have really helped a lot to know it. And, you know, now, we're hearing it this week and that's great. But it's telling you something different about this mother and what the Russians thought of the mother, to be wiretapping her.

LEMON: OK, and the FBI did interview the mother in 2007 as part of the investigation into Tamerlan, the case was closed after several months as Susan Candiotti --

FUENTES: Right. But the FBI didn't know they were wiretapping her. They interviewed her as a matter of interviewing everybody in the family, friends and classmates. It would have been very helpful for the Russians so say, we are very suspicious of this mother.

And, you know, they normally wouldn't disclose every wiretap they're doing. But they certainly don't cast enough of a negative light on the mother to elevate her, the concern about her and her own relationship with her sons.

LEMON: OK, Tom, so in our previous conversation in the last hour, does this -- does this then reinforce what everyone has been saying here? You said there's been sharing of information by everyone. I was questioning you about what is the one agency where the buck stops? Would it have been -- does this sort -- does this sort of reinforce what critics of the administration and of the handling of this bring the FBI, what they're saying about it, that hey, listen, somewhere someone dropped the ball clearly and we're not sure and agency it is. Most fingers are being pointed at the FBI. Does this solidify what they're saying, at least gives more credence to it?

FUENTES: I don't exactly understand how that logic occurs, but it does, I guess. You know, we're in a situation where the FBI conducts its own investigation here, gets as much as it can get, says it comes up negative, relays that to the Russians twice, please give us more, we haven't found anything. In meantime, they're wiretapping his mother and we don't know it.

Now, we don't expect them to disclose every detail to us, but when you say that, you know, people aren't talking to each other, where they're stovepiping -- where there's going to be stovepiping between two separate countries.

LEMON: Right.

FUENTES: So, that's a given. So, in this situation and in these multinational terrorists or organized crime or drug traffic investigations, they're very reliant on each of the countries trying to give you as much information as you need to go on as so that's the question here. You know, what's done in the U.S. and what the FBI does and what the Joint Terrorism Task Force does and members of Customs and State Department and others that belong on that task force, that's issue.

But it's a complete separate issue when they're investigating in the dark and don't know the underlying reason why they're investigating.

LEMON: I get what you're saying. So, in this new era of the Internet, where the world is so connected and people can become jihadist over the Internet, jihad over the Internet.

FUENTES: Right.

LEMON: Then what is the solution? Because this is a new world between countries. Even countries that may not be allies may have to work together when it comes to terrorism. So, what's the solution then, Tom? Is there a solution?

FUENTES: Well, in a way, it depends on what revel level of privacy you want to have, you know, you want to surrender, because what you're asking here basically is, OK, if he has discussions with his mother that he supports jihad or he thinks it's e great when other people commit jihad or, you know, however that goes with him, that's one thing. But what you're saying is why doesn't the FBI know what he's thinking?

And all they can examine here is what people say about him, what they know him to do, his behavior, you know the investigation of his phone calls and his Internet which if it's just to his mother and father, that normally isn't going to elevate suspicion. You don't expect the mother to be a ring leader of this.

You know, decades ago in the U.S., we had Ma Barker leading her sons into a life of crime. But, typically, you don't see the mother doing that. So those phone calls back and forth to the mother they would have seen, that their calls were made. They would not have known the content. Apparently, the Russians did know the content.

LEMON: OK.

FUENTES: So, that's where the problem comes in. How do you know when somebody -- when you say somebody is increasingly starting to become radicalized, you're trying to figure out what he's thinking?

LEMON: Yes. Tom Fuentes, formerly at the FBI, thank you, Tom. Stand by.

I want to get back to Susan Candiotti now. Again, Susan Candiotti, getting us the latest information. That an official says Russia intercepted 2011 communication with the bomber's mother discussing jihad.

So, Susan, so many different -- we spoke to you about what this means, but there are other things we want to talk to you about because the suspect is in this facility behind you, this prison facility, which is -- he's also being watched, a prison hospital. Gunshot wounds to his head, his neck, his legs and his hand, OK?

He apparently is not cooperating with authorities as much as he had been before him being read his Miranda -- for him being mirandized. And also, they're looking for a laptop.

Let's start with his level of cooperation then we'll talk about the search for a laptop. How is he doing? And is he cooperating in fact at all?

CANDIOTTI: Well, as of now, we're not getting any updates on his medical condition only confirming that he remains at this medical facility. How long he will be here, we don't know.

Now, in terms of whether he's cooperating or whether he's talking to investigators or whether he's meeting with his lawyer, we also don't know the answers to those specific questions, only from our official -- one of my sources telling us that he certainly did provide a lot of information to investigators before he was read his rights, as had to be done when he was first charged. Then, he elected to have a lawyer present and not give any substantive information.

And adding this, Don, to what Tom was saying earlier, some law enforcement officials have said that back in 2007 when they were looking at him and interviewing him and interviewing him family and friends an his mother, for example, beyond that, beyond having more specific information to go on, given the way that U.S. laws are currently set up, it would have been, according to some sources, impossible to apply for and get a wiretap based on the current laws as they stand. Perhaps that is something else to consider and certainly others on Capitol Hill may disagree with that.

But in terms of trying to find, for example, going and searching the landfill today, or rather over the last two days, we know that they wrapped up that search this day after searching for two days. Whether they found a laptop that belonged to one of the two suspects is unclear. They're not saying. But if they can get their hands on that, obviously that could provide a lot of good investigative leads as well, Don.

LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, with the breaking news. Susan, great information. Thank you for your reporting. We'll be getting back to you.

New information on the ricin case. The FBI has a new man, a new suspect and agents are working to talk to him. We'll be back with more information on that, right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.

The FBI has a new main suspect as agents work to find out who mailed poison-filled letters to the president of the United States. James Everett Dutschke, he's from Tupelo, Mississippi, and this evening, he faces a very serious federal charge, using a biological agent as a weapon. We're talking about ricin, the deadly poison that somebody mailed to the White House and the offices of the senator and a judge. Prosecutors dropped similar charges against another man two days ago. I'm going to talk to him in about half a minute here.

First I want you to listen to Alina Machado in Tupelo about the arrest of Dutschke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't know exactly why the FBI went looking for him. What we do know is that Dutschke's name came up in a hearing for the initial suspect of this case, that man is Paul Kevin Curtis. He told -- he said in that hearing on Monday that he had been framed and he mentioned Dutschke as a possible suspect.

A day after that hearing, all of the charges that had been filed against Curtis were dismissed. Curtis's name was cleared. He was released from jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And the man Alina is talking about, Kevin Curtis, is on the phone with me right now.

Kevin, thank you so much for joining us. You're a free man. Your name is clear right now. You're the one who pointed the FBI to James Everett Dutschke.

Why? I mean, do you think he mailed ricin to the White House?

KEVIN CURTIS, CHARGES DROPPED IN RICIN INVESTIGATION (via telephone): You know, I can't really say for a fact that he mailed it because obviously I haven't been following him and haven't had any correspondence in about a year and a half with him. I had a city -- I went to a city prosecutor in Tupelo a couple of years ago and said this man is stalking me online, he's made threats she's going bash my brains out, he's trashing and slandering my music all over the information highway.

And he went too far as to call people in festivals from here if to Alabama that I was scheduled to perform for to tell them that I was a criminal and a terrible person and problematic and I should not be hired. And sure enough, they dropped me from the roster.

So, it was an ongoing, started out cyber, kind of, he would stop my every move, you know? I set up a tracker on my MySpace page about five years ago and it told me he was coming to my page at least three to four dozen times a day. That was the first evidence I had to proof that this man was trolling and stalking my every move on social network.

LEMON: You said that Dutschke framed you. That's what you believe. Why do you say that? Why do you believe that?

CURTIS: Well, I wasn't the one that initially made that statement. I believe maybe it could have been the attorneys, staff that made the statement in court.

All I was asking was who out there could you name one or two people that have a vendetta that that would be strong enough to do something like this, to mail letters with a poisonous substance that could cause bodily harm to the president of the United States, a senator and a judge.

And it just so happened, well, you know, I was linked with the senator because several years ago, I sent a house resolution bill that I typed up for --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You're not -- Kevin, if you can just answer the question. Why do you think he would frame you?

CURTIS: He hates me.

LEMON: Why does he hate you?

CURTIS: He doesn't like me. He's -- this guy has slandered me from here to North Carolina. I've had a hundred people call me, e-mail me and ask me, why does he hate you? I can't answer that question because I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You don't know why he hates you.

CURTIS: I don't have a clue.

LEMON: What's the history of your relationship? How do you know him?

CURTIS: He went to work for my brother, my older brother, in the insurance business and then he asked to be put into my ex-wife's unit, and so, she was his manager. And the first question he asked her at a luncheon date was what was it like being married to Kevin Curtis? That was before I received any e-mail or met him in person.

LEMON: So, you think for some reason that he was upset with you?

CURTIS: I only met in person on occasion.

LEMON: For some reason you believe he became obsessed with you, you don't know why.

CURTIS: I have no clue. I hope that we find out why when this comes to a head.

LEMON: OK. Very interesting and it certainly will because they're investigating.

Kevin Curtis, we appreciate it. Thank you for joining us here on CNN, OK?

CURTIS: Thank you so much.

LEMON: OK. Thank you.

Breaking news into CNN. We're going to get to it right after this break. It involves a communication between the mother of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and them, or one of them at least.

We'll have that after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Breaking news here in CNN is that we have just learned that Russian authorities secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bombing suspects may have vaguely discussed jihad with his mother.

Boston is only one side of the bombing investigation. The other is areas -- is oversees, excuse me in Russia. That's where the bombing suspects trace their family roots, to Dagestan and Chechnya. Their parents are still there. This is a part of the world no stranger to violence.

I want to go to Jim Walsh now. He's CNN international security analyst and he is here.

Jim, tell us about the world. Could the roots of extremism have been planted there as you listen to this new information about the conversation between the mother and one of the sons?

JIM WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Don, I think it's certainly plausible. Again, we are still facing the situation where the information is vague. In the press release, it says the information is vague. With the clues that were passed on by the Russians to the FBI, the first round, they were said to be vague. So, it's hard to know. But you put your finger on a possibility. This has been one of the most violent areas of the world because after the fall of the Soviet Union there were not but two vicious, ugly civil wars fought between Russia and the break away republic of the Caucasus, in which both sides committed brutal acts atrocities culminating in the razing of the city of Grozny and the casualties and vicious of it would be unknown to Americans, even Americans who have served overseas.

So, lots of bitterness, lots of anger and lots of violence. Now, can we draw a direct connection between that violence regionally and this particular circumstance? That remains to be seen. You know, we're looking back at something and we're seeing pieces and we see how they might fit together. But if you were back then looking forward it wouldn't immediately be clear this was all part of the same puzzle.

LEMON: So, let's talk a little bit more about this news that we're just hearing that the mother being wiretapped by Russia. Is wiretapping there the norm and does this new information tell us -- what does it tell us about the threat?

Well, I think it says a couple of things. First of all, wiretapping is widely used. Remember, this is, you know, I'm going to say, Russian is an authoritarian state. And they were in the middle of a civil war.

So, they were under direct military threat in a break away state and that he used every technique available to them during that time and then, going forward, still concern -- even though things have calmed down in the ensuing years since the mid-1990s, I'm sure Chechnya and rebels of the Caucasus are at the top of the Russian list of security concerns. So, I would think that's a widespread technique to be used.

You know, as far the Russian cooperation with the U.S. and in general, in over the past couple of years, the U.S.-Russian relationship has been rocky. Coincidentally, on April 15th, on the day of the attack, President Obama and President Putin decided to patch up U.S.-Russian relations and because -- it had been in a freefall.

So, yes, the Russians were sharing information but we weren't getting a lot, it was vague, the relationship was a poor one. That has turned a corner coincidentally on the very day of the bombing. So, I expect that we're going to see much more cooperation from the Russians, in part because there is this common concern.

I don't expect a lot of attacks from Chechen rebels or Chechen- inspired jihadist to come and attack the United States. Why do I say that? Because we've never seen it before and the Chechens are first an foremost focused on Russia as their target, not the U.S.

Nevertheless, that's -- there's a link there and we're going to have to follow that until that trail runs dry.

LEMON: I ask a very similar question to Tom Fuentes this one. You know, because of the Internet age, everything happens so quickly now. You can become a jihad and you can become radicalized online. So, Russia and the U.S. typically have a frosty relationship, now they're sharing information, keep your enemies -- your friends close and your enemies closer, right? So, what does that relationship look like going forward now?

WALSH: Well, I think because it's from the top down, you know, without the executives, without Putin and Obama saying make this happen, then the suspicious that characterizes the U.S. relationship, the rivalry between the U.S. and Russians was going to mean that there would be sharing, but it would be tit-for-tat. It would be partial. There would be fear of sharing information that might reveal sources and methods for either of the governments.

If Putin and Obama pursue what they have started on April 15th, they will force the bureaucracy I think to cooperate in ways that we haven't seen in the last couple of years.

LEMON: Always very interesting. Jim Walsh, we appreciate your information.

The big question is: how is the administration going to respond? Are they responding? We are checking with our folks at the White House to see if that is happening. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back. Half past the hour. Very busy evening for news. I want to give you the headlines.

Breaking news on the Boston bombing suspect. A U.S. official says Russia had a wiretap that intercepted a communication between the Boston bombing suspect's mother discussing jihad with someone who may have been one of her sons. The Russians turned over their intercept of the conversation which the official described as "vague" just within the last few days.

I want you to look at that banner. It says one team. These are the boys from the Dorchester, Massachusetts baseball league where eight year old Martin Richard played. Martin was killed in the Boston marathon bombings. Today was opening day for the little league teams. Dorchester community put on this parade in Martin's honor.

The FBI has a man in custody today. They believe he's involved in the mailing of poison, poison filled letters to the president and other officials. James Everett Dutschke is charged with possessing and using the biological toxin, ricin. Dutschke was arrested today after the FBI searched his home.

The nation's airports will be back to normal tomorrow. That's a promise when the FAA which is calling off the nationwide furlough program that slowed some airport traffic to a crawl this week. More than 3,000 flights were delayed when the furlough hit air traffic controllers all across the country.

Part of a plane that hit the World Trade Center may be wedged in between two buildings just a few blocks from ground zero. The NYPD says it appears to be a piece of landing gear. It's wedged between a site of a planned Islamic community center and another building. They're looking into all of the possibilities including whether the part was intentionally placed between the two buildings.

The Boston bombings suspects' parents are staying in Russia at least for now. The father has postponed his U.S. trip indefinitely for health reasons. That is according to the mother. Earlier the father had agreed to fly to the U.S. and cooperate with investigators. The mother is also staying in Russia. She's wanted on felony charges of shoplifting and destruction of property in Massachusetts. That's where the parents lived until last year.

More now on our breaking news. I want to go to White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar. She's at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, at the Hilton there where officials, we understand, are already reacting to the breaking news here on CNN. Brianna, what are they saying, if anything?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. Obviously, the White House correspondent center is sort of a light event where there are a lot of celebrities but there are a whole lot of newsmakers as well. And that's why we were able to talk to Attorney General Eric Holder about this breaking news that Russia intercepted communication involving the bomber's mother, the alleged Boston bomber's mother in 2011 talking about Islamic, discussing jihad according to a U.S. official.

We talked to him about that and also about the legal process going on right now involving the surviving alleged Boston bomber. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Are you familiar with this report that Russian authorities wiretapped one of the bombing suspects and that he was speaking to his mother about jihad in 2011. Can you say anything about that?

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's an ongoing matter. I don't comment on that.

KEILAR: Can you comment on the suspect being mirandized and whether that was appropriate?

HOLDER: Well, I mean, the decision to Mirandized (INAUDIBLE) and that was totally consistent with the laws that we have, we had a two day period (INAUDIBLE) so I think everything was done appropriately. We got good leads.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now again, CNN is reporting at this moment, according to a U.S. official that this was the interception of a conversation involving, on one end, the alleged bomber's mother back in 2011. We are not saying we do not know who that conversation was with. But according to a U.S. official, she was discussing jihad with whoever she was talking to. The question right now in the aftermath of these bombings is were some red flags perhaps missed by U.S. officials that could have tipped them off to the fact that the Tsarnaev brothers were a threat. At this point a U.S. officials say its not clear if this intercepted communication would have perhaps forced authorities to take a closer look at Tamerlan Tsarnaev or Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Don.

LEMON: It's interesting that the attorney general said he would not comment on this intercepted conversation, but then he talks about the Miranda, them reading him his Miranda. Both of them are part of an ongoing investigation. He commented on one but he commented on the other, Brianna. That's very telling.

KEILAR: That's right. I think it's not surprising that he wouldn't comment on this breaking news as this is something that has just developed. But I think the commenting on the mirandizing is because it's controversial and I think that there's a lot of sensitivity to that and he's trying to explain and stand by the administration's decision which is getting a lot of scrutiny. Don.

LEMON: Well, maybe the White House Correspondents Dinner and it's supposed to be but fun our Brianna Keilar is on the job and she's getting answers. Brianna, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting. We'll get back to you.

In the meantime, two college friends of one of the bombing suspects are now being detained by authorities. What the FBI hopes to learn from them, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Breaking news here on CNN on the bombing, Boston bombing suspects. A U.S. official says Russia had a wiretap that intercepted a communication between the suspect's mother discussing jihad with someone who may have been one of her sons back in 2011. The Russians turned over the intercept of the conversation which the official described as vague in the last few days.

Meantime, two friends of bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are being detained for immigration violations. They are both from Kazakhstan and went to college with Dzhokhar in Massachusetts. Apparently, the two friends did not attend classes often enough to keep their visa status current. Their attorney says the friends appear in a photo with Dzhokhar taken in New York City's Times Square last year. He adds the two men had nothing to do with the Boston attack. Authorities want to talk to the friends more about the suspect's movements before the attack. We'll update you on that.

More than a dozen victims lost limbs in the Boston bombings. We talked to a man who knows a lot about what's ahead for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just sort of want to let those people know that it's not, it's not over. You know, your life isn't done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: His own recovery from tragedy, an inspiring story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Three people died when those bombs exploded near the Boston Marathon finish line and more than 260 others were injured. Now each of those survivors is just beginning what may be a long road to recovery.

CNN's Poppy Harlow is in Boston. She says they're getting help from people who have been there.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don. Well, you know, of the victims from the Boston bombing we know that at least 13 have suffered the lost of at least one limb from this horrific attack. And no one can understand what it is like to go through that if they have not experienced it themselves.

So this week we met Muji Karim. He is an incredibly inspiring young man who lost both of his legs. And he talked to us about the challenge ahead but also about the hope that lies ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW (voice-over): Muji Karim's daily workout is about so much more than getting fit. It's about becoming himself again. This was Muji two years ago.

The former safety for the University of New Hampshire Wild Cats learning to walk again after a tragic car crash that took his legs and nearly killed him.

(on camera): When you heard about the bombing and you realized that people had lost limbs from it, what did you think?

MUJI KARIM, DOUBLE AMPUTEE: It just really brought me back to a bad place. But I just sort of want to let those people know that it's not, it's not over. You know, your life isn't done.

HARLOW: It doesn't have to break you.

KARIM: No, no. It doesn't have to break you at all.

HARLOW (voice-over): He knows what the more than one dozen amputee bombing victims face.

(on camera): I wonder what the biggest fear has been for you as you've gone through this.

KARIM: To be honest, my biggest fear is not being myself again.

HARLOW (voice-over): The man who got Muji up and walking again is the one who will do same for nearly all the bombing amputees.

DR. DAVID CRANDELL, SPAULDING REHABILITATION CENTER: Being able to see somebody walk with a prosthesis for the first time is transformative.

HARLOW: He'll do it here at Spauldings brand-new rehabilitation hospital which is just opening now.

CRANDELL: They have been in intensive care unit, some have been on high dose medications. So sometimes the processing of the invitation only really begins once they come to rehabilitation.

HARLOW (on camera): It's not just about rehabilitating their body or teaching them to walk again, it is just as much about rehabilitating their mind and emotionally where they stand, isn't it?

CRANDELL: That's right. And you know, losing a limb is akin to losing a loved one. We look at an amputation as a transformative events. But I tell patient that it clearly, it clearly shapes them as an individual but it doesn't define them. So, you know, you're defined by what you have, not by what you've lost.

HARLOW (voice-over): Muji will be right alongside him working with other amputees to help the bombing victims battle back.

CRANDELL: This really has affected the entire community.

KARIM: I just want to walk in and let them know that be sort of that rare hope, let them know that their lives is not over. You might even feel like you don't need, you're not happy that you survived because I went through those same sort of feelings.

HARLOW: But this makes it different for these victims.

KARIM: To know somebody purposely did something like that and you lost what you lost, that's something I never had to do deal with.

HARLOW: But Muji believes.

KARIM: If you stay with a positive mindset and you're willing to work for it, I mean, I'm living proof that you can get where you want to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: And you know, Muji told me that a year ago it took him about 57 minutes to walk a mile on that treadmill. Today he told me he is four times faster. So he's seeing a little bit of improvement day by day by day.

And luckily while also coincidentally just this weekend Spaulding Rehabilitation Center has opened its doors to the new facility that we showed you and that is where almost all of the amputee victims from this bombing are going to go through rehabilitation. So we certainly wish them all the best and at least they'll have those doctors in that state of the art facility to go through rehabilitation. Don.

LEMON: All right. Well said, thank you, Poppy.

Matt Damon is an actor and a filmmaker. And many - well, they know him for his connection to his hometown of Boston. Well back home he spoke about the recent attacks on his city. We'll tell you what he said. You'll hear from him as a matter of fact, next.

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LEMON: We are a little more than an hour away from the party that mixes politics and pop culture like nothing else. As a matter of fact, let's get you there live.

The White House Correspondents' dinner. It is at the Washington Hilton. And there you see the folks are all filing in now. It's a fancy dress ball, really. You know, the Presidential Press Corps has been hosting the event since 1920. It's become the white-tie opportunity for celebs with a cause. Here's CNN's Nischelle Turner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swoon-worthy, glamorous, and often unexpected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jane.

TURNER: The celebrity turnout at the annual White House Correspondents' dinner is always interesting.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, EDITOR IN CHIEF, HUFFINGTON POST: I love the kind of chance encounters. I love the fat that you don't know who you're going to run into.

TURNER: And you never know what headlines will happen when Washington pundits and politicians mix it up with Hollywood heavyweights. So what brings the stars out each year?

RUSSELL SIMMONS, MUSIC MOGUL: A lot of talented people get together. A lot of people concerned about the direction of the country.

JESSE TIER FERGUSON, ACTOR: I want to basically meet anyone who's for marriage equality, and I want to talk to them and give them a hug and then thank them for their hard work.

TURNER: Some celebrities show up with a cause and Hollywood public relations strategist Howard Bragman says that's smart.

HOWARD BRAGMAN, HOLLYWOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIST: If you have a cause, something you're passionate about, you have an opportunity to speak to really a bunch of different media than you've typically been speaking to.

TURNER: But prepare to work the rope line.

BRAGMAN: You've got a lot of congressman's spouses who want to take their picture with you. It's a lot of glad-handing. It calls for a lot of patience, a lot of pasted-on smiles. It's almost like you're running for office.

TURNER: While some celebrities party with a purpose, others are there for levity and laughter.

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: Remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.

TURNER: And many stars say they simply can't pass up an opportunity to dine with the president.

CHRIS COLFER, ACTOR: Not too many people can. So any opportunity I can I definitely jump on it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Kimmel was hilarious last year. Nischelle Turner joins me live from outside the Washington Hilton where the dinner's happening.

TURNER: Hello.

LEMON: Nischelle, did everybody leave you? What's going on?

TURNER: Yes, well, basically, the red carpet line is pretty much over, Don, because you just showed some live pictures from inside. Everyone's making their way inside for the correspondents' dinner so it can begin.

But you know what? This has been a really interesting red carpet. I was a first-timer here tonight as well, and lots of celebrities were first-timers, and they were very excited to meet the politicians. It's almost like that thing you always hear about, athletes and rock stars. All of the athletes want to be rock stars, all the rock stars want to be athletes.

Well, it's the same way here tonight. All of the celebrities want to be politicians and the politicians want to be celebrities. It's going to be a fun night. Can't wait to -

LEMON: You're a newbie. We have been covering this dinner, at least I have, this team, for five years -

TURNER: I'm a new kid at CNN. I'm a new kid at CNN.

LEMON: You know what? It's great. Every year they say Don, why aren't you at the White House Correspondents' Dinner? And it's exactly what Howard Bragman talked about in your story. It's a little too much glad-handing for me. I'd rather sit here, talk about, it laugh at the jokes, anchor the coverage. But I mean, obviously, it would be fun to be there. You saw Sharon Stone earlier. You had Psy. Who else have you seen?

TURNER: Well, there's been a lot of people here. You're right. Sharon Stone and Psy were both here. Rebel Wilson, Matthew Perry, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, and all those folks from "Modern Family." Also some other big-time names like Attorney General Eric Holder. He came and spoke to me here. Connie Britten from "Nashville," Claire Danes and her husband, Hugh Darcy. Lots of people here tonight. It's going to be a packed house. Michael J. Fox, I just spoke with him, and I tell you how much you adore that man and his fight. He's still fighting the good fight.

LEMON: I love him. Michael P. Keaton. Alex P. Keaton. Thank you. Don't go away because we'll be back later.

Conan O'Brien headlining tonight's event. And you can watch his speech, the president's speech, and much, much more right here on CNN. Live coverage begins at 9:00 Eastern.

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LEMON: Breaking news on the Boston bombing suspect. A U.S. official says Russia had a wiretap that intercepted a communication between the Boston bombing suspect's mother discussing jihad with someone who may have been one of her sons. This happened in 2011. The Russians turned over their intercept of the conversation which the official described as "vague" just within the last few days.

One of Boston's favorite sons talked about the marathon bombings while visiting Harvard University this week. Matt Damon. He received the school's annual award for excellence in the arts. During the ceremony the actor reflected on the attacks, and he says he was shocked when he found out he went to the same high school the younger Tsarnaev brother attended. He says everyone is now wondering what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: It's just really - I think we're all still in shock. I certainly am still in shock and trying to figure out what this all means and what happened. It's just incredibly shocking and hard to figure out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Damon wrote about the importance of the race in a "Boston Globe" article just weeks before the attacks.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. Live coverage of the White House correspondents' dinner begins one hour from now here on CNN. You're looking at live pictures now from the Hilton in Washington.

In the meantime, Anderson Cooper's special report "Boston Terror: Behind the Bombings" begins right now.

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