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Contractor Fires NSA Leaker; Turkish Protesters Fight Policy; Bomb Threat Closes Princeton University; Hillary Clinton Issues First Tweet; Supporters Are Ready If Clinton Decides to Run For President; Bomb Threat Closes Princeton University; Zimmerman's Friend Speaks Out; Cancer Doctor Accused Poisoning Coffee; Crazy Ants Invade Homes; George Zimmerman Trial Begins

Aired June 11, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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


SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: On the run and in hiding. New details on the man who leaked the top secret government spying program.

Plus, tense moments in Turkey. Police used tear gas and water cannons on protesters.

And Hillary Clinton sending her first tweet, but it's her profile that's got everybody talking. And is she sending a message about a possible presidential run?

This is CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

The 29-year-old who leaked details of secret government surveillance programs, well, he is now on the move. A law enforcement official says that authorities, they're busy preparing their case against Edward Snowden. The self-confessed source of the leak has left his hotel in Hong Kong, but he's still believed to be hiding out somewhere in the city. And Snowden told "The Guardian" newspaper he expects to be charged under the espionage act but he is hoping for asylum.

I want to bring in our Crime and Justice Correspondent Joe Johns to talk about where we are in the investigation here? Are charges imminent?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I don't think they're imminent. I'm told from a law enforcement source, Suzanne, that the charges are not imminent. So, that doesn't mean it necessarily could be today or tomorrow or next week. It's kind of complicated for these authorities because, number one, they are obviously looking in every direction to try to find out what type of information he accessed, what type of information may have been given to this newspaper, "The guardian," in London but that takes time. And we really don't know the extent of this because the reporter who has covered the case has said there are other stories coming. So, the question is whether there have been other alleged unauthorized leaks of information -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And, Joe, so far, there's been no formal request for extradition. Is that because they just don't know where he is or they're still trying to build their case against him? JOHNS: It's more about building the case because the process goes, first you investigate, then you corroborate, then you get charges filed. And after the charge is filed, that's when you start talking about extradition of an individual. Right now, there's nothing to extradite him for unless some charges have been filed, say secretly, in the courts. And that would be something we just wouldn't know.

MALVEAUX: Is there any concern that the longer he's out there that he's talking to media or that he is in hiding that there's a greater sense of threat to national security that if there are more information or more leaks that come out that they need to get a hold of this guy right away?

JOHNS: Well, that certainly could be something they might want to consider. The question, of course, is what type of documents might have been accessed and already turned over to the media and whether he's just simply on the run. The other question, of course, whether he is, in fact, in Hong Kong or if he's already left the city. You know, I had talked to a law enforcement source today who said, would you stick around given the type of media spotlight there is in that city right now? A lot of questions still out there -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Joe, I'm sure you'll be looking for those answers to those questions. We appreciate it. We'll be getting back to you shortly. Thanks, Joe.

The company where Edward Snowden worked gets most of its money from government contracts. And Booz Allen says that it is working with authorities on that criminal investigation that Joe was talking about. Well, today, the company, they put out this statement about Snowden. It says, Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, was an employee of our firm for less than three months assigned to a team in Hawaii. Snowden, who had a salary at the rate $122,000, was terminated June 10th for violations of the firm's code of ethics and firm policy.

And now to escalating violence. This is out of turkey, watch this. What you're watching here, riot police firing tear gas and water cannons on protesters who were throwing Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at the officers. You see the engagement there. All of this, this is out of Taksim Square -- or Taksim Square on the heart of Istanbul. And protesters, they are spreading across the country. The last 12 days these protests have gone on. They started when police cracked down violently on a peaceful sit in at a park in the square. They have since led to calls now for Turkey's prime minister to resign.

And also happening right now, this is out of Princeton, New Jersey. This is in -- rather, Princeton University. This is in New Jersey. This is the school. It has been evacuated. There was a bomb threat. According to the school's Web site, the threat involved multiple unspecified campus buildings. Students and teachers, they are told to leave the campus, do not come back until you are told to return. A tweet from the university says that regular classes have ended for the summer but there are some summer programs that were going on on that campus there. I want to go on. She has been around the world, the most traveled secretary of state ever. But the one place Hillary Clinton had not been was the Twitter verse. Well, now, she's on Twitter and her debut, it's got a lot of folks speculating about possibly a run -- another run for the White House.

Brianna Keilar reports it didn't take 140 characters. It took just three.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The now iconic image of then secretary of state Hillary Clinton sporting dark glasses intently studying her Blackberry is her profile picture on her new Twitter account. Clinton is taking Twitter by storm. The former secretary of state, senator and first lady also described her as wife, mom, lawyer and get this, hair icon and pantsuit aficionado which she joked about at a recent fashion awards dinner.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: All you really need is a small but passionate audience to be successful. We could call it project pantsuit.

KEILAR: Perhaps most telling of all in Clinton's bio TBD immediately interpreted as a sign she'll launch another run for the White House. Happy to welcome our 45th president to Twitter, one of her supporters tweeted. Clinton has kept a low profile since leaving office in February though she's remained in the headlines connected to the Obama's administration handling of the September attack in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans were killed including a U.S. ambassador. Clinton's poll numbers have slipped slightly in recent weeks but she still remains a popular figure. And while she hasn't said publically she'll run in 2016, her allies are getting ready in case she does.

HILARY ROSEN, CNN ANALYST: There are groups who are getting ready. Whether or not she's ready, there are other people ready for Hillary. They want to be sure that if she makes the decision to run that there is support right off the bat.

KEILAR: Bill Clinton responded to his wife from his Twitter account asking, does Twitter have a family share plan? Daughter Chelsea Clinton, said simply, welcome, mom. President Obama also welcomed his former rival. Judging by Hillary Clinton's first tweet, there will be many more. Thanks for the inspiration she said to the creators of the (INAUDIBLE) texts from Hillary which made this photo of her famous and then I'll take it from here.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: So, the tweets definitely fueling speculation that she could be running for president again. Wolf Blitzer is joining us from Washington. And, Wolf, I know you and I probably both following Hillary Clinton. Now seeing all these -- she's tweeting. She's got a lot of tweets going on for someone who just started all of this. Let's talk a little bit about the timing of this. It comes on the heels of a poll that I want to show our viewers here. It shows her popularity is taking a little bit of a dip out of -- stepping out of the limelight. Gallop releasing this yesterday, showing that it went from 64 percent in April now to 58 percent, and uptick in unfavorability from 31 to 39 percent. She left the State Department under some heavy criticism because of the Benghazi issue. Do you think there's a critical window here? That she's got to jump in and say, look, I really am going to run?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I don't think there is -- it's any time soon. She's got 100 percent name recognition. Everybody in the country knows who Hillary Clinton is. So, she doesn't have to worry about people getting to know her or people getting to like her or, for that matter, not liking her so much. She's got a lot of time. I would say she's not going to do anything really serious, maybe a little maneuvering here and there. Maybe opening up this Twitter account is the first sign of that. But she's going to wait until after the midterm elections before we know for sure whether or not she's going to run.

My own suspicion, for what it's worth, having covered her, Suzanne, for a long time as you have is I think she still has the fire in her belly. I think she would like to still be the first woman president of the United States. My own gut tells me, based on everything I'm hearing from people who know her a lot better than I do, that she wants to do it. She has not made any final decision yet. And I think the only thing possibly that could prevent her from running, this is just my sense, is if her health isn't good. Remember, she did have a scare a few months ago with that blood clot in her head and it got a lot of people close to her very worried. Assuming she's made a complete recovery and she doesn't have to worry about any health- related issues, my own instinct tells me she'll run.

MALVEAUX: Wolf, we know that she's doesn't sit still for long. And yet, she's been saying these things like, oh, I'm chilling, I'm relaxing, I'm sleeping in. Do you think that's part of a campaign? Do you think that's part of messaging, if you will, to convince folks that, look, she is healthy if she decided she'd go for 2016?

BLITZER: Yes, she's got to do that and she's got to rest up a little bit. Those four years that she served as secretary of state, she was traveling all the time. She really, really worked hard. And while I'm not a physician, I'm not, obviously, Dr. Sanjay Gupta or anybody like that, I can't say that all that hard work, all that traveling, all that time aboard that aircraft caused that kind of blood clot developing inside her head. I have no idea if there's any connection whatsoever. But she should take it easy now. She should rest up especially if she's going to run for the presidential nomination. She's looking great. You saw the last images, the last pictures we've seen of her -- of her at some of these events. And she looked so much more relaxed and she seemed so much more at ease. And so, I just think she deserves a little rest right now. Let her enjoy.

MALVEAUX: Yes, we'll be following and hopefully she won't tweet too much there. She's just going to take a little bit of a break.

BLITZER: I'm following her.

MALVEAUX: I bet.

BLITZER: I'm following her on Twitter. I assume you are as -- she's gone from one follower to, what, more than 300,000 followers in a day or whatever?

MALVEAUX: Yes, not bad.

BLITZER: That's pretty good.

MALVEAUX: Not bad at all.

BLITZER: Yes.

MALVEAUX: All right ,Wolf. Good to see you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: We're going to go back to the developing story of breaking news. This is Princeton University in New Jersey. The school has been evacuated because of a bomb threat. And joining us on the phone is a student, part of one of the summer programs there, Emily Whitaker. Whitaker, is that right? Whitaker? Tell us, you -- you're waiting to get the all clear. Where are you now?

EMILY WHITAKER(via telephone): So, right now, I'm standing on at the Nat Law Inn which is, like, (INAUDIBLE) from campus. And they have (INAUDIBLE) for students come in (INAUIDIBLE.) (INAUDIBLE) there aren't very (INAUDIBLE.) Yes, so, like, all the students evacuated. All the faculty and staff went home. And the (INAUDIBLE.)

MALVEAUX: Having a difficult time actually hearing her there on the campus. I think we're going to move along here. We're going to try to get more information. But the school -- students were there. Not a lot of students were there because the classes already had been closed, were told to evacuate and leave because of a bomb -- a bomb threat. And they will alert students when it's safe to go through several of the buildings and to make sure that they are OK, that it's -- gets the all clear there. We're going to bring more of that story as soon as we get more information.

And we're also working on this for this hour. One of George Zimmerman's best friends could be one of his biggest problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

When the head bashing on the concrete stopped and Trayvon reached for the firearm that was at his side, grabbed a hold of it --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Up next, how prosecutors could use that statement against Zimmerman at trial.

And -- plus, one of country's top cancer doctors accused now of trying to poison a colleague she dated. The weapon, a chemical used in antifreeze.

And they're small, they look harmless but these -- they are called crazy ants on the loose and they're destroying T.V.s and computers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Rough waves and a strong current along the Alabama coast take the lives of four men. They were from Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana. All four men drowned. A strong rip current have closed the beaches in Alabama's gulf shore's area.

And on to Baltimore. That is where a cleanup is under way after severe storms caused flooding in parts of Maryland. Besides the flooding, the city was also hit by what they are calling a funnel cloud. So take a look at this, it's a funnel cloud that formed along the coast there. You see it. You are looking at what is left. This is in parts of Woodbine, Maryland. This is just northwest of Baltimore. Homes, buildings destroyed after tornado reportedly brushed through that area. The National Weather Service is now evaluating all of the damage.

So, we're talking from Maryland to Kentucky. Take a look at this "I- Report", and this is of a tornado touching down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (YELLING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy cow!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: This tornado touched down in Logan County. Several homes were severely damaged. You can imagine. You can submit a report to cnn.com/I report for your own pictures.

We're also following second day of jury selection. This is under way in the George Zimmerman murder trial. It is moving rather slowly. 20 potential jurors have been called into a courtroom. This is in Sanford, Florida. They are being interviewed individually as the attorneys try to see the panel of six men and women plus four alternates for this highly publicized case. Now, Zimmerman, he admits to shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, in February of last year, but he says he acted in self- defense. Our David Mattingly spoke to one of Zimmerman's friends whose testimony could play a key role in the case. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When George Zimmerman was worried about an aggressive neighborhood dog in 2009 he decided to buy a gun and went to his friend Mark Osterman for help.

MARK OSTERMAN, ZIMMERMAN'S FRIEND: He had felt that once you - once he gets married, once you get married, you kind of - he said that he possibly changed his perspective in life and that he was responsible not just for himself anymore, but for his wife.

MATTINGLY: Osterman, a federal law enforcement officer helped Zimmerman weigh the pros and cons before he settled on a thin lightweight .9 mm. It was easy to conceal, easy to carry and acting on Osterman's advice, Zimmerman carried it everywhere.

OSTERMAN: Always. He carried it always, and I -- the one thing I did tell him for the reason for doing that was, if it is on your person it can't be anywhere else.

MATTINGLY: It was on Zimmerman's person the night he encountered Trayvon Martin and he told Osterman how Martin grabbed the gun during their fight.

OSTERMAN: According to what he told me was when the head bashing on the concrete stopped and Trayvon reached for the firearm that was at his side, grabbed the hold of it.

MATTINGLY: Osterman wrote about it in a book quoting Zimmerman, "Somehow I broke his grip on the gun, where the guy grabbed it, between the rear side and the hammer. I got the gun in my hand, raised it toward the guy's chest and pulled the trigger."

And this is where the problem lies for George Zimmerman because comments quoted by his friend Osterman do not match what Zimmerman told police. Listen to what he says as he walks investigators through the crime scene.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: And he reached for it. And he reached with - I saw his arm going down to my side, and I grabbed it and I just grabbed my firearm and shot it one time.

MATTINGLY: In multiple recorded interviews Zimmerman never tells police that Trayvon Martin ever touched his gun. DNA testing seems to agree. There was no trace of Trayvon Martin's DNA on the gun's grip. Prosecutors list Osterman's book with Zimmerman's conflicting account as potential evidence possibly to challenge Zimmerman's credibility. As for his connection to the gun Zimmerman was carrying, Osterman says it's hard to answer the question, does he feel regret?

OSTERMAN: He didn't have it to go out and commit a crime of hunting someone down and harming them. It was for self-protection. And I'm glad that that firearm was used to protect George.

MATTINGLY: Mark Osterman could appear as a witness for the prosecution and for the defense. As for as what he has to tell them, Osterman says he sees no difference in the case of self-defense if someone is grabbing your gun or grabbing for it.

David Mattingly, CNN, Sanford, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And these ants are eating more than just your food. Get this, they are actually destroying your TVs too. This is invasion of they are called the crazy ants, up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)