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Michael Jackson Death Trial Continues; NSA Leak Probe

Aired June 13, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Vigilante justice. A mom catches a predator by posing as her 11-year-old daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The scary thought is, you're just like, oh, my God, what if?

BALDWIN: I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): The feds say this actress sent ricin-laced letters to the president and Michael Bloomberg and then tried framing her husband. Well, that husband is about to tell me his side of the story.

Plus:

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: These disclosures have caused significant harm to our nation and to our safety.

BALDWIN: The man who leaked NSA secrets is still on the run, but the FBI suggests, not for long.

And racism and hate directed at a boy who sang the national anthem at the NBA finals. He responds.

SEBASTIEN DE LA CRUZ, SINGER: If they don't like mariachi, that's their problem, but I love it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Trouble with M.J., big trouble, that is the precise wording from an e- mail from the former CEO of concert promoter AEG referring to Michael Jackson just days before his death. CNN has now obtained deposition video played for jurors this week in the Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit against AEG.

We're going to show you part of one of those videos here in just a second. But this is Dan Beckerman. He's the recipient of that alarming e-mail. He is the current CEO of the company that was promoting Jackson's This Is It concerts. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this e-mail from Mr. Leiweke to you, it says, "Trouble with M.J., big trouble. What are you guys up to tonight?" Do you see that?

DAN BECKERMAN, CEO, AEG: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

And do you know why it is or what was your understanding of why Mr. Leiweke was informing you about trouble with M.J.? Let me ask you this way. Do you have an understanding of what Mr. Leiweke was talking about?

BECKERMAN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you respond to Mr. Leiweke?

BECKERMAN: Sure looks like it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what did you tell Mr. Leiweke?

BECKERMAN: Do you want me to read what it says?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

BECKERMAN: It says: "I figured something might be wrong given how jittery Randy has been this week. Is it pre-show nerves bad or get a straitjacket collar insurance carrier bad? We're around tonight just hanging out."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joey Jackson is an attorney and a legal analyst for our sister station HLN.

And when you hear that, Joey, straitjacket bad, mental breakdown, first, are they talking about Michael Jackson? Because these executives seem to be bobbing and weaving all over the place in these videos.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Just a little bit.

BALDWIN: Yes.

JACKSON: You know, this is important, Brooke. And we have to evaluate it in the context. Now, what is the context? It's a lawsuit that says they didn't do enough, that the AIG executives were negligent in what they knew or should have known regarding Michael Jackson's condition.

So, when you look at this and they say, of course, their defense is, well, we didn't know. We didn't really hire him. We didn't really supervise. This was all Michael Jackson. And how should we know that he was in a bad state of affairs? This goes to show that they did know, Brooke, what his state of affairs were. And therefore I think it's very damaging.

BALDWIN: Smoking gun, the e-mails? JACKSON: I think it's beyond a smoking gun, Brooke. I would classify it as a bit of a fire. The reality is, is that certainly it just gives them some knowledge. They want you to be left with the impression, the AEG executives, that they just didn't know the severity of his condition. They were not aware. If they knew, they would have taken measures.

But this seems to suggest that they really did know and did not do enough. So I think that's why it is just so damaging as it comes in during this trial.

BALDWIN: Joey Jackson, thank you.

JACKSON: Pleasure.

BALDWIN: Now to Florida, where a mom is stunned when she finds out her 11-year-old daughter has become the target of a predator. So what does she do? She turns the tables. She starts spinning a web, working with police to lure this criminal in.

John Zarrella has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carolyn could not believe what she was reading. Quote, "are you still a virgin" nor what she was seeing, nude pictures.

CAROLYN, MOTHER WHO BUSTED ALLEGED PREDATOR: I was just overwhelmed, unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. I thought it happened to other people, not right here in my home.

ZARRELLA: It all started last month, late one night, Carolyn, who we will only identify by her first name decided to check her 11-year-old daughter's phone. She found a bunch of Facebook messages, no big deal if they were from other kids but they weren't.

CAROLYN: We see this guy and he's actually a grown man, so that's what sent off the alarm in me. ZARRELLA: The man now charged with sending lewd texts and pictures is this man, 23-year-old Michael Jerome Bradley, but Bradley might still be out there if not for Carolyn's dogged pursuit. At first, police told Carolyn they did not have enough to arrest him so pretending to be her daughter she gave Bradley her phone number. He kept texting so she picked up the phone and called him.

(on camera): What do you say to him?

CAROLYN: I called him up and I said, you know this girl that you're texting that you keep harassing on the phone she's only 11 years old. I'm like, if you don't stop calling her phone and texting her I'm going to call the police.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Carolyn says Bradley still didn't know he was texting mom and mom was texting him back.

CAROLYN: All the while he's thinking it's her.

ZARRELLA: Quote, "You know it's my birthday just passed. I just made 12. I know I got a gift when I see you." Response, "Yes, birthday sex, and another allegedly from Bradley, "You want me to pick you up from school, let me know something. I know you don't have much freedom." Finally, Carolyn had enough. Bradley, she says, went on and on wanting a picture.

CAROLYN: I was looking into Sunday's paper and I just boom, my eyes fell on the perfect picture so I sent it to him.

ZARRELLA: It was this photo. A young woman from a Target ad, after that, Carolyn says is when Bradley sent more explicit texts and the nude photos. Now police had enough to pick him up on several obscenity charges and unlawful communication.

CAROLYN: But the scariest part is, you know, you're like, my God, what if? That's the biggest problem, the what-if.

ZARRELLA: John Zarrella, CNN, Saint Petersburg, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Doesn't this story absolutely give you the creeps? But, you know, in this case, the vigilante justice worked. Is it a good idea, though? And how much should anyone, mom, dad, get involved in trying to catch a criminal?

Let's talk to Steve Kardian, a former police detective from New York.

Steve, good to see you. Listen, thank goodness for this mother. She was clearly on a mission. She succeeded. But what do you make of her tactics?

STEVE KARDIAN, FORMER NEW YORK STATE POLICE DETECTIVE: Well, you know, Brooke, it appears that she had gone to law enforcement. It's got to bring a smile to your face that this ended in such a good conclusion.

BALDWIN: Thank goodness.

KARDIAN: But -- yes. I encourage parents to go to police.

But great job by mom -- she was diligent. She did all the right things. And in today's world, we have to have the passwords for our children, we have to have the passwords for our kids. And understand that most kids, most children, most young adults, they have multiple account on Twitter, on Instagram. So, parents need to do their due diligence.

BALDWIN: It's a good thing she involved police. But did she potentially put her daughter in harm's way by continuing to be in touch with this guy?

KARDIAN: There certainly comes an assumed risk with that type of behavior that she engaged in. But, to her, again, she had gone to the police department. They didn't have enough. I always encourage parents at the first inception, turn it over the law enforcement. They have the tools to deal with that. Every police department at least has an Internet- savvy detective or agent working for them. They have a lot of resources at their fingertips.

BALDWIN: Steve Kardian, thank you. Great advice.

KARDIAN: Pleasure. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Happening now, leaders from an alphabet soup of intel agencies, FBI, NSA, they're meeting with senators. It is a private briefing. But, earlier, the director of the FBI shared some public details on the National Security Agency gathering your private data.

Robert Mueller testified before members of a House committee today and told them this, that gathering information on your phone calls is legal, it's effective, and the more we talk about this, the more we compromise the purpose of doing it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUELLER: I can tell you every time that we have a leak like this, And if you follow it up and you look at the intelligence afterwards, and there are persons WHO are out there who follow this very, very, very, very closely. And they are looking for ways around it.

One of the great vulnerabilities that terrorists understand is their communications. And they are consistently looking for ways to have secure communications. And any tidbit of information comes out in terms of our capabilities and our programs and the like, they are immediately finding ways around it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So what about the FBI's progress in capturing the man who leaked those documents? Mueller had this to say about Edward Snowden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUELLER: As to the individual who has admitted making these disclosures, he is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. These disclosures have caused significant harm to our nation and to our safety. We're taking all necessary steps to hold the person responsible for these disclosures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: These disclosures have led to growing support for Snowden in the city which he ran off to, Hong Kong. Many call him a whistle- blower. Many people there, they're planning a rally for him this Saturday. Hong Kong, as you know, is part of China. And now there are moves to find out just how close Snowden's ties to China are.

Want to go straight to Brian Todd for that side of the story. And, Brian, what are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, with the damage assessments now going on, a dual concern among officials at this moment is the possibility that Edward Snowden might defect. Snowden did tell the newspaper "The South China Morning Post" that the U.S. government's been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and mainland China -- quote -- "for years."

He told "The Guardian" that he had access to the full rosters of everyone working at the NSA and undercover assets all around the world, also had access, he says, to the location of spy stations and their missions. Now, it's not clear if he really had this or if he was just bragging about it. He did say his intent was not the harm the United States. But the concerns in Washington are palpable right now.

Listen to what House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN: Does he have a relationship to a foreign government and is there more to the story? Clearly, there is -- we're going to make sure that there's a thorough scrub of what he is -- what his China connections are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: I have also just spoken with one former senior NSA official and a former CIA officer.

Both of them told me they are certain that the Chinese government has at least made contact with Edward Snowden at this point. Former CIA officer Robert Baer gave a sobering take on just how closely surveilled Snowden would be in Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Chinese intelligence has that place riddled with sources, people, cooperative, police, the rest of it. It's impossible to hide in Hong Kong, just impossible. A man whose face is this well-known, you can't -- he can't be wandering around. It's just not possible. That city is controlled by Chinese intelligence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: We have called and e-mailed the Chinese Embassy here in Washington asking if their government has had any contact with Edward Snowden, asking if they would offer him asylum if he asked. We have not heard back from them yet.

Now, what about other U.S. rivals? We asked an Iranian official at the U.N. if they have had contact. No word back yet. An official at the Russian Embassy here in Washington did not know of any contact that his government has had with Snowden. But he did reiterate what President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said. He said that if he asked for asylum, the Russians will -- quote -- "consider it."

Brooke, he is a gold mine for intelligence. These are rival countries with the U.S. at least in the intelligence wars. And they will be all over him if he wants to go to them.

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, we will look for your reporting on "THE SITUATION ROOM" 5:00 Eastern. Brian, thank you.

From Washington, in Colorado, hundreds of homes destroyed, tens of thousands of acres burned. Look at this. This is Black Forest, Colorado. Authorities now say this fire is the most destructive in the state's history. Coming up next, we're going to talk to a woman who merely hours ago found out her home of more than four decades is gone.

Plus, we have just gotten word a tornado warning right now in effect for Fredericksburg, Virginia. We're watching the black skies next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: To Colorado now and the nightmare for folks who live there affected by these massive wildfires, 38,000 evacuees in total so far out of their homes hoping, praying for the best.

Today, officials say this main fire, it's the Black Forest fire, is the worst in state history when it comes to sheer loss of property. This fire has destroyed at least 360 homes, including the home of my next guest, Paula Warren. She has just learned she has lost her home of 41 years.

And she is kind enough to join me there from Colorado Springs.

Paula, I am so sorry. Tell me how you're doing. Tell me how you heard about your home.

PAULA WARREN, LOST HOME: I heard about it from a friend about three hours ago.

I guess there's a list of houses, and it's on the Internet. And it rates them between not affected, some damage, and total loss. And mine was in the total loss. But, on the good side of it, my next five-acre neighbor has no smoke damage or any damage at all. So this was a weird fire. It's not like a forest fire that you think of a forest fire. It was a ground forest fire that moved on the ground until it hits an object as a house, not a tree. And it takes the fuel from that.

BALDWIN: How incredibly selfless of you to have lost your home and you are immediately happy for your neighbor. So, wow.

Were you able to -- when you evacuated, Paula, earlier in the week, were you able to grab anything, any precious mementos, money, before you left?

WARREN: I did get a few dollars and four pair of socks and my two little miniature horses and my two dogs.

And then I was going for clothes, and the sheriff was in my house, had me by the arm and said, we're going now. And that's what I have. What I have on and my four clean pair of socks is it.

BALDWIN: My goodness.

(CROSSTALK)

WARREN: But that's OK.

BALDWIN: That's OK. You have yourself. You are A-OK, thank goodness.

Is there anything, though -- have you had a moment? I know this was a couple hours ago. Has this sunk in? I know I was in Oklahoma talking to people who lost homes. And everybody just keeps talking about photos. Did you lose photos, presumably?

WARREN: Yes. Everything, it's all gone.

I won't say that, though, because there is still that little corner of me that's optimistic that once we get in there and I can get into the rubble, there's going to be -- there's going to be things that didn't burn up. So, you know, it's all good. And the house will rise out of the ashes. And I have already named it the phoenix. I don't know what it's going to look like yet. But it's going to be OK.

BALDWIN: I love your attitude. Tell me, do you plan to rebuild? Will you stay where you are?

WARREN: Exactly, yes. Yes, 41 years, that's my life, my home. I'm there.

BALDWIN: You have your life.

(CROSSTALK)

WARREN: And I still have trees.

BALDWIN: I'm glad you have those trees. Good luck building the home and keep those trees as a reminder to what once what stood. Paula Warren for us in Colorado, Paula, my best to you. Thank you so much.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Coming up, a story that has, I know, a lot of people talking today. This 11-year-old sings the national anthem before the NBA game. People taking to social media to complain, not about his voice, but about his heritage. Hear how he's responding to the criticism, 11 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You are about to see real grace in the faces of pretty brutal online bullying. Sebastien de la Cruz, you may recognize this little guy. He's the 11- year-old mariachi singer who was a huge hit last year on "America's Got Talent." Well, just this past Tuesday night, he sang the national anthem at the NBA playoff game, the finals game in San Antonio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I mean, seriously? He's amazing.

But it wasn't long before the peanut gallery showed the ugly side of social media with a barrage of racist comments on Twitter. Here are a couple tweets. These are the ones we can actually show you on television.

Quote: "Why they got a Mexican kid singing the national anthem, 'bleep.'"

Another one. "Why is a foreigner singing the national anthem? I realize that's San Antonio, but that still ain't Mexico."

Here's another one. "Who let this illegal alien sing our national anthem?"

Well, let's talk about this. Let me bring in CNN en Espanol's Alejandra Oraa in Miami with Sebastien's reaction.

He is one tough kid.

ALEJANDRA ORAA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. Hi, Brooke. It's great being with you from Miami.

And, indeed, although he has received terrible backlash online, just because he wanted to represent his culture, his parents' culture through his attire, the typical mariachi attire known in Spanish as (SPEAKING SPANISH). Sebastien is a very smart boy. And he's not letting the negativity get to him. After the scandal, he said he's a proud American. And he will not let the criticism stop his singing career. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: I think that the people were talking bad was because of what I was wearing. And it's not my fault. It's what I love. And I'm just proud to be a mariachi singer. Like, it's -- it's their opinion, actually. And if they don't like mariachi, that's their problem, but I love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Oh.

ORAA: Brooke, after the national anthem incident, de la Cruz tweeted -- and we quote -- "Please do not pay attention to the people. I am an American living the American dream. This is part of the American life" -- back to you.

BALDWIN: Well, that's the thing. He is an American. And you see all these tweets. It's just ignorance. They didn't do their homework. They didn't realize that he was born in America. And I have to say there was a lot of backlash to those racist tweets as well.

ORAA: Absolutely.

Brooke, he was born in San Antonio, which makes him obviously a legal citizen. Not only he is from Texas, born and raised. He has lived in the U.S. his whole life. And even his father was in the Navy for a pretty long time. Yes, he is from Mexican background. But he's in the country made of immigrants. He was dressed in his typical mariachi attire because he said he wanted to honor his family's culture and mariachi.

But, like you said, a lot of people wrote online positive messages in regards of his personal performance, which was flawless. We have to be honest. He's only 10 years old and he did a great job. And the people that defended him wrote the following. "Why are people so upset over a Hispanic singing the national anthem? He's probably got more roots in here than most Americans."

And a lot of haters, a lot of people that wrote those negative comments on Twitter, they actually ended up shutting down their accounts after the comments.

BALDWIN: How about that? I thought he was incredible. I think we will see a lot more of him in the future.

ORAA: I agree with you.

BALDWIN: Alejandra Oraa, thank you so much.

Let's roll on to some breaking news. We are getting word -- this is what we're learning. Multiple people have been shot at a business in Saint Louis. These are live pictures from the scene. We're told police have walked into this location now, but the suspect is on the loose. More breaking news, Saint Louis, after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)