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Russia: Second U.S. "Spy" Expelled; Boston Bomb Suspect Wrote Note In Boat; Jury Considers Death For Jodi Arias; Two Of Arias' Attorneys Want To Quit; Texas Tornado Caught On Cell Phone Video; David Beckham Retires From Soccer; O.J. Simpson Testifies; Motive For Boston Bombings Revealed

Aired May 16, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This expulsion happened before American diplomat, Ryan Fogel, was detained earlier this week by Russia. He was accused of being a CIA agent.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is following this latest story from the State Department. Tell us about it.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know, I think what you are seeing is Russians are saying this is really a pattern. They say, number one, Ryan Fogel, who is the most recent case has actually been they would argue was with the CIA. They knew it before he came. It wasn't the first time that he was spying. When he came to Russia, they were watching him.

Then they also say over the past two years that the United States has been upping its attempts to recruit Russians, most of them intelligence agents to work for the CIA. In fact, they say, as you pointed out, in January of this year an unnamed American also was expelled because of that.

We asked the State Department about that. They are not giving any details or confirming that. And then finally, they say, you know, it's simply -- it was too much for them. The phrase is they tested our patience and it was beyond the pail and Russia says they had to make this latest case very public, which they have been.

So, Carol, I think you can say there is a lot going on here, a lot of messages and the Russians say that they are very angry, but this is not the type of relationship they want with the United States or the United States says that it wants with Russia.

COSTELLO: All right, Jill Dougherty, reporting live from the State Department this morning.

We also have new information to tell you about in the Boston marathon bombing investigation. As Dzhokhar Tsarnaev huddled inside this boat wounded and bleeding with the police closing in, the sole surviving suspect wrote a note outlining a possible motive behind the attack.

Let's bring in CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti. Susan, what does the note say? SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, it's pretty hard to imagine this, but I mean, you can paint a mental picture for yourself. According to a U.S. law enforcement official, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a note talking about a few things. Number one, he scribbled he wouldn't be missing his older brother, Tamerlan, he would be joining him soon.

Remember, he knew that Tamerlan was dead at that point as he huddled in this boat. But he also indicated a motive for the bombing, that it was payback according to official against the United States for attacks against Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now this is something we have heard before by convicted terrorists here in this country, but in this case, apparently, he said the same thing.

He added in the note, according to the official that the people killed and injured in Boston were simply collateral damage in so many words. If you attack one Muslim, it is considered an attack against everyone, he wrote. The source also tells us that after Dzhokhar was captured and was being interrogated bedside, he said, very much the same thing about the motive for these attacks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, just to -- the first line is sort of confusing. He was, you said, he said something about his brother and not missing him.

CANDIOTTI: Yes. In other words, that at that point, remember, this was within hours after there was a huge shootout in Watertown near Boston, when the police converged on both brothers and at that point, Tamerlan was shot and killed, in fact, police say that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ran over his brother as he escaped and then went on to hide.

So hours later as he was hiding in this boat, that's when at some point, he decided to scribble this message literally on the inside of the boat using a pen or some other instrument, according to source.

COSTELLO: That's just so strange. So we don't know where the note was found in the boat because there were conflicting reports earlier that said he might have written the note on the boat itself.

CANDIOTTI: No, that is what, in fact, are sources are talking about. It was literally written on the inside of the boat. Not on a piece of paper. This was a message that he had written possibly because he thought he would eventually be captured. Possibly because he thought he might die of his injuries. So he scribbled this on the inside of the boat.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Susan Candiotti, we'll let you get back to your investigation. Thank you so much. We want to bring in CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem who is in Boston. Hi, Juliette.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So how does this new information change the notion that perhaps Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been brainwashed by his older brother and he was sort of a follower in this bomb plot? KAYYEM: Well, I think it still could mean that, you know, this idea of collateral damage is like language taken from the book of, you know, radical Jihadists, right? It is the language that they use and so it could be that he's just mimicking this language that he's been fed as well as this, you know, the notion of coming back or fighting back about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So I think it's actually very consistent with the notion that he has been radicalized, of course, but by whom it's not known and I think the evidence is still suggesting that it is his brother simply because of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's history, you know, as a sort of a kind of dropout, good for nothing kind of guy in high school who was just looking for leadership he found in his brother.

I will say one thing about the report, about Susan's reporting, what she's saying is consistent with the FBI impounding the boat for as long as it has. If there is actually evidence in the boat, physically on the boat, that's why, you know, remember when they took the boat out that is very consistent with it.

Then I have to say one final thing, it's very, we always -- he clearly was not attempting to commit suicide or to go down fighting even though he says he will meet his brother soon. There is a way in which he could have acted, you know, running towards the cop that would have clearly to be honest killed him, just by the nature of that evening.

He instead decided to write some notes in the boat, but eventually gets captured. And then now will be, you know, put before a court or through the criminal justice system.

COSTELLO: In all that time as far as you notice, as far as I know, investigators can't physical out whether the older brother, Tamerlan, was radicalized by anyone.

KAYYEM: Right. No, that's exactly right. At least as we have been discussing for the last month, it does appear like he made this trip to Russia. Now, there is lots of evidence coming out that he tried to become part of various groups. Remember, these groups are very, very intimate sort of the right word to describe him.

They're not going to let some random guy from the United States come in because they want to keep the secrets close hold. He tries to get in with various groups, one, two, three different times. Two people he meets with are killed by the Russians. So it doesn't look like much happened in Russia.

In fact the terrorist organizations there sort of push him back and say, we don't want -- they were probably worried he was working for law enforcement here. He comes back. That's when the chronology for the planning of the Boston marathon occurs.

It is looking like what we suspected some sort of international element in terms of radicalization and allegiance to, you know the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the people there, but in terms of the planning on a home grown event. COSTELLO: OK. He didn't say anything about Chechnya. It's just so strange. Juliette Kayyem, I am sure, it was very strange. I'm sure much more will come out of this note in the hours to come on CNN. Juliette Kayyem, thanks so much.

We want to take you now to Arizona where in just a few hours jurors in the Jodi Arias trial will hear arguments on why her life should be spared. That same jury has already decided she will be eligible for the death penalty.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury duly empanelled and sworn in the above entitled action upon our oaths do find the aggravating factor especially cruel has been proven, signed foreperson.

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COSTELLO: CNN's Ashleigh Banfield is live outside the courthouse in Phoenix. So Ashleigh, everybody is wondering whether Jodi Arias will take the stand?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have news for you. It wouldn't be a normal day here if we didn't have something very abnormal develop, Carol, I can report to you now one of the closed door hearings that's been kept from us, we are now finding out what went on in that close door hearing just two days ago.

Her defense attorneys have asked this judge if they can quit. They have had it. They asked if they could be removed from the case. There is no reason publicly given. Although, it is abundantly clear they would have had to make that reason known to the judge in the case. The judge has denied that motion.

So you will continue see her two defense attorneys struggling to make their uphill climb towards her ultimate defense and save her life. Here is one of the problems, today when they open their statements, both of these attorneys on either side of this courtroom, the prosecutor, the defense, they're essentially trying to do just that, mitigate this woman's case down to the point where this jury could sign leniency and spare her.

The problem is Jodi gave an interview a few days ago after she was found guilty, saying, kill me, I'd rather die than live my life out in a box. And that is a very, very big problem for this defense counsel because what are they supposed to do now?

After mitigation specialists spent months meeting with Jodi Arias in her jail cell trying to come up with an adequate case as to why she is a life worth sparing. Now what are they supposed to do when they have a defendant who could very obviously put herself on the stand.

She's the boss, Carol. She makes the ultimate decision through her attorney. She has to stand up in front of that judge and say yes or no, I do or don't want to testify in my own defense. If she insists on doing so, and to her lawyer's point, God forbid, says I'm done, end this now. It makes their job very difficult.

Let me just be very clear, Carol Costello, this is not what we know to be the factual basis by which these attorneys have asked to quit the case. But there has been about $1.7 million or more million dollars of the good people of Arizona's tax money on her defense thus far. So you can understandably guess why this judge has said I don't think that's a good enough reason to drop it all now and move on.

COSTELLO: Let's say the jury decides to grant, to give the death penalty to Jodi Arias. Of course, Jodi Arias can appeal and might the lawyer's actions be a basis for an appeal and drag this case out even longer?

BANFIELD: Guess what's happening in Vegas, O.J. Simpson has an ineffective assistance of counsel argument going on in the county courthouse. You know, look, you and I have covered enough of these cases to know that when you are out of options, that's the Hail Mary, a lot of times that's the case that comes up. Sometimes you can prevail. Most times you cannot.

But listen, if that is the case, in this country, where we have states that employ the death penalty, you have an automatic appeal, even Timothy McVey had an automatic appeal. You cannot even as a defendant decline that. It's what makes this country great. We want to be sure even when we are not perfect at this. We want to do our best to be absolutely sure we got it right.

She'll have an automatic appeal if that's what happens. Any subsequent appeals to that, though, she can decline and she can march her way right to the needle, which is what Timothy McVey did. But at this point, I really feel for this team council that's working for her because I think it's been abundantly clear. They've have a very difficult case to start with and now to have a difficult defendant just makes it all the more astounding.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll check back with you. Ashleigh Banfield reporting live from Phoenix, Arizona this morning.

Also we just got cell phone video of those deadly tornadoes that hit North Texas. Joseph Stultz shot the video in Granbury, Texas from his backyard. Let's watch. That is incredible. At least six people died when these types of tornadoes touched down in North Texas. More than 100 people are injured and authorities are still looking for survivors. There's a lot of damage there. I'll take you back to North Texas a little bit later on in the NEWSROOM.

Also, CNN has just confirmed the soccer star and beautiful man, frankly, David Beckham is calling it quits. He's going to retire. We'll take you live to London after this.

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COSTELLO: All right, maybe not so much of a shocker, a little surprising to me, soccer great David Beckham announcing today he will retire. He's 38-years-old. Let's go to CNN's Alex Thomas in London. Why did David Beckham decide to retire now? ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We haven't heard from the player himself, yet. The British newspaper is saying that David Beckham was going to call time on his football career. Now he's just won the French championship with his latest club (inaudible). It has almost been two decades since they have been crowned French football champions.

So maybe Beckham like one of his famous ex-manager, Siranex Ferguson of Manchester United deciding to retire after coming out on top, winning yet another championship. He's the first English player ever to win league championship titles in soccer in four different countries, most famous for his time at Manchester United where he joined as a 14-year-old.

He moved from there to Real, Madrid, the giant Spanish club winning La Liga in 2007. Before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in major league soccer, helping to boost soccer in that country. He won the title there before moving on to PSG. But it seems at the age of 38, Beckham is calling it a day.

The news confirmed by England's Football Association, the governing body in this country, although, as we say, we have not heard from Beckham himself, yet.

COSTELLO: But I'm sure he will have many things to do after his retirement because, of course, many Americans know him best for his wife, actually, Victoria Beckham and her fine fashion sense and fashion line. He is pretty fashionable himself.

THOMAS: I think that's the reason that David Beckham's retirement from soccer is going to make such huge news around the world because people probably wouldn't put him in their list of top five greatest soccer players. But they certainly would put them in their top five lists of the most successful soccer players.

I think he realized very early on that his brand image was very important and brand Beckham, if you like, is one of the biggest in the world as much as soccer is one of the most played sports in the world. He enjoyed hits time in L.A. and as you say, his wife, Victoria, and their lovely four children, the three boys and one daughter, the latest addition to the family 21 months ago.

Meant they really cultivated that image of being a glamorous megastar celebrity couple. They were close friends with Tom Cruise and his then wife Katie Holmes, of course, while they were living in L.A. I think Tom and David are still close. We've seen Tom Cruise out watching David Beckham play during his brief spell with them in recent months.

So yes, there is no doubt that Beckham has plenty of business interest, his ambassador roles came in China. So he is a global name. I think his business interests will extend across the world.

COSTELLO: Yes, maybe we'll see more of him in the United States now. Now that he is leaving France. Thank you so much, Alex Thomas. We appreciate it. Still ahead in the NEWSROOM, O.J. Simpson may return to the stand in his bid for a new trial. We'll take you back to Vegas for a live report.

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COSTELLO: It's 22 minutes past the hour. We might see O.J. Simpson taking the stand again, yet again in a Vegas courtroom. That might happen on Friday. Simpson, as you know, is seeking a new trial on his 2008 convictions on robbery, assault and kidnapping.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is covering the field. He is in Vegas. I am really intrigued by what O.J. Simpson's former lawyers will say on the stand today.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Yale Galanter, the former lawyer will probably take the stand on Friday. Today, we have three other witnesses, but when Galanter takes the stand, rest assured, he is probably going to let O.J. Simpson have it with both barrels.

Simpson, of course, saying that Galanter poorly represented him so terribly that he deserves a new trial and I believe Galanter will probably back and say, look, I was in a tough position here. O.J. had gone into that hotel room. There were guns present. I did everything I could to get him off the hook. Not my fault that the jury rendered the verdict that it did -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So tell me what it was like to see O.J. Simpson walked into the courtroom and to hear him speaking?

VERCAMMEN: Well, let's start from the beginning of the week when we saw him for the first time in four and a half years. Obviously, everybody made the comment that he seemed bloated, that he had gained weight. He was much greyer. His attorneys have said he is much more arthritic. Even though he was cuffed, he seemed to walk in slowly, gingerly.

Then yesterday, when he finally testified, it had all the feeling of someone who had all this bottled up inside for a long time. He was very calm. Don't forget. He has a lot of acting experience, he told his story. At times he was jovial, smiling, if fought downright witty. So he was composed in that respect. But again, he went on a long time. It really felt like he wanted to get that word out, which he finally did because he never testified in that 2008 trial.

COSTELLO: What was interesting to me is, I mean, he knew he was on camera, right? He seemed to be enjoying the performance, if you will.

VERCAMMEN: Absolutely. There is no doubt. I mean, O.J. seems to have always enjoyed his various performances and of course, he had been in some screwball comedies, "The Naked Gun" movies and what not. He has a sense of timing I think. He had been well trained in Hollywood with all of that. He had been in commercials.

So yes, he seemed to revel in all this. Again, it seems as if even if he doesn't get the verdict he wants, he wanted to take a shot at Yale Galanter, his ex-attorney. Don't forget, they were side-by-side. They were inseparable. They had been involved in other legal issues and all of a sudden now this colossal falling out.

COSTELLO: OK, so Friday will be the big day. I'm sure today will be fascinating as well. Paul Vercammen reporting live from Vegas, thanks so much.

New developments from the Boston marathon bombings, a message written by the lone surviving suspect. We'll tell you what it says.

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COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with me. It's 27 minutes past the hour and we have a bit of breaking news to tell you about. One month after the deadly attack at the Boston marathon, we may finally have a motive.

Officials tell CNN that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect wrote a message inside the boat where he was captured by police. He wrote that the Boston attack was payback for U.S. attacks on Muslims during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also wrote those killed and wounded at the marathon finish line were collateral damage.

In the meantime, three of the points Tsarnaev made are nearly identical to what a London suicide bomber said on a video message before those attacks. Tsarnaev also wrote he would not miss his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in that shootout with police, because he expected to join him soon.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found on that boat a day after the violent shootout with Watertown police. His brother died during that incident. CNN has now learned the nearly 300 rounds that were fired, almost all of those rounds came from police.

The bombers had only one guns, a pistol. In a city still searching for answers, questions are now being asked about how events unfolded that night in Watertown. That story now from CNN's Drew Griffin.

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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is all police knew at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer down!

GRIFFIN: An MIT officer had been shot and killed. Hours earlier, the FBI had released these pictures of suspected bombers. Tensions were high all across this city, when this alert went out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired at Watertown. Shots fired at Watertown. Get to Watertown.

GRIFFIN: Police raced to the intersection of Laurel and Dexter Streets to face what amounted to chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have explosives, some type of grenades. They're in between houses down here. Loud explosions! Loud explosions! Shots fired!

GRIFFIN: The Tsarnaev brothers were in the middle of the streets firing bullets, throwing their homemade bombs, and in return, facing a massive barrage of police bullets. Two local law enforcement sources tell CNN the Tsarnaev's had just --