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New Day

Spain Train Disaster; Anthony Weiner Sexting Scandal; President Obama on the Attack; Pope Francis in Brazil; Mysterious Stomach Bug Sickens 275 People; Snowden Still Stuck in Airport

Aired July 25, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a horrific train crash in Spain. The death toll rises to more than 70, survivors barely escaping the flames. We're live on the scene.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Defiant. Anthony Weiner battling back against new calls for him to drop out as CNN learns more about the woman he was talking to online. Who is Sydney Leathers?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: What's in a name? The baby who would be king now has a name. Meet Prince George. So, why did the royal couple pick that name? And why are they staying with her family instead of his?

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues, right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: What you need to know --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Washington's taken its eye off the ball. I'm here to say this needs to stop.

ANNOUNCER: What you just have to see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe that she actually went out there and tell him. You know, most children just kind of watch and let it go.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: You don't suppose to take things.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Good morning and welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. It is Thursday, July 25th, fabulous day, 8:00 in the East.

Great to see you. I'm Kate Bolduan.

CUOMO: And I'm Chris Cuomo here with news anchor Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: Good morning. CUOMO: This morning, new demands from Washington that Russia turn over NSA leaker Edward Snowden -- not looking too good for that, though, as Russia issues temporary papers that could let Snowden leave the Moscow airport for the first time in more than a month. CNN takes you there live.

BOLDUAN: And get this -- there's a mysterious stomach bug that sickened nearly 300 people in nine states so far. So, how serious is this. We're going to look at how it spreads and what you can do to protect yourself from it.

PEREIRA: Also, Caroline Kennedy has stood by President Obama, helping put him in the White House. Now, he's putting her up for a handsome reward. The question is, though, is she qualified to be the ambassador to Japan? Let's take a look.

CUOMO: All right. Let's begin, though, with breaking news. New video of a horrifying train wreck in northwest Spain that killed at least 77 people. The surveillance footage, you're seeing it right there. That's the moment of derailment, the train jumped the track as it was rounding a curve.

There are early indications that the train was traveling too fast.

Karl Penhaul is live in Santiago de Compostela, that's where this happened. What do we know, Karl?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, that video you mentioned is just in those literally in the last few minutes. It is absolutely chilling. What we can see is that train comes towards this bridge action, the backend of the front locomotive seems to flew off the track and slam into that bridge and then skew sideways.

But if you look very closely, a fraction of a second before that happens, about midway down the train, you see a puff of smoke or dust coming up. I'm sure investigators will be looking into what caused that. But, of course, then the video goes dark. And that could be because the train then slammed into the post that had the surveillance camera. We've been trying to piece together what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): The scene is surreal, a packed passenger train approaching the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela derailed as it hurdled around a curve. Its cars strewed around the track mangled. This car snapped in half, flames burst out of another.

Firefighters and emergency workers swarmed the scene putting out the billowing fire and feverishly evacuating the train.

In the dark aided by flashlights, officials pulled injured and dead passengers through the windows, prying open doors to reach the most severely wounded. This morning, as the death toll and number of injured continues to rise, hospitals are calling for blood donations to aid in the recovery. Initial assessments by investigators indicate this probably was not an act of terrorism, but a senior aide to the prime minister says they are pursuing all possible causes.

Meanwhile, officials are clearing the scene, forced to use cranes to left the ravaged train off the tracks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: All right. Karl Penhaul following that terrific story for us out of Spain.

The video that came out -- my goodness. We're seeing it when it happens.

CUOMO: It's still a developing scene. They're still figuring out what happened, but also who's inside and who isn't.

BOLDUAN: There might still be more people.

All right. Another one of our lead stories this morning, still defiant in the face of more scandal. Anthony Weiner hears the calls for him to drop out, but he's not listening. He is staying.

In the meantime, we're learning more about Huma Abedin's decision to stay in her marriage after this latest in the sexting scandal for them.

Dana Bash is following the developments for us this morning. More and more we're learning, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You know, I was on the campaign trail with Anthony Weiner here in New York yesterday. I witnessed what it was like. It was very clear he's staying in this race, for better or worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): With Anthony Weiner on the mayoral candidates' panel, an innocent question about using Facebook or Twitter is really awkward.

ANTHONY WEINER (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: All I can say is, Salgado, don't ask me.

BASH: A light-hearted moment to lift the tension after one opponent confronted Weiner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People around the city called on you to withdraw. You are distracting from focusing on the middle class and ideas.

WEINER: If you want to play to the cameras, that's your ability. I'm having a serious conversation about issues. That's what these good people came to hear. Let's honor they're being here.

(APPLAUSE) BASH: A day in the life of scandal-plagued Weiner, a rousing speech on public housing.

WEINER: The fact of the matter is, that we need to change the way we do things.

BASH: Minutes after a silent protest, a handful of women turned their backs on him.

His indiscretions literally followed him. A man dressed as Carlos Danger, Weiner's screen name for lewd messaging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Carlos. Why did you steal my name?

BASH: Weiner admitted to reporters, he fumbled his comeback by not disclosing he has sent pictures and texts to strange women a year after resigning from Congress for the same thing.

WEINER: Perhaps I should have said it was coming out at this specific time and this specific person, but there isn't a lot way for me to answer these questions.

BASH: He still isn't answering all our questions.

(on camera): What do you say to people who say, yes, this is personal, but it's beyond personal, it's also an issue of judgment? And do you have the judgment to be in Gracie Mansion?

WEINER: I think it's a fair question. People have to answer that question for themselves.

BASH (voice-over): We asked New Yorkers ourselves.

(on camera): Does it bother you?

UNIDENTFIED MALE: No. I mean a lot of politicians have their issues. And I just -- I think this one we can put behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's kind of creepy. So I don't think I would want that as my mayor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: One open question has been what did Huma know about his relapse into sexting last summer? A friend of Huma tells our Jessica Yellin she learned about it last fall. She was furious. She said she was leaving him. But overtime, she decided that it's best for their young son to stay together. So she started once again trying to repair their marriage.

I've seen -- a lot of places it's written that she's very ambitious, that's why she's staying with him. Anybody knows Huma that she -- before she married him, she had a lot of very rich, very powerful people going after her. She's gorgeous. And she decided to marry him for love, A, and, B, she is also the closest confidant to Hillary Clinton, who may even be president. She doesn't need him to be in power.

BOLDUAN: It seems there's something new every day on this. We'll be following it.

Dana, just a reminder, in just a few minutes, we're going to speak to one of Huma Abedin's close friends to get her perspective on this.

CUOMO: All right. President Obama is resetting the agenda. He's trying to get out in front of a looming budget battle with a series of speeches on the economy. He's going to speak in Jacksonville, Florida today, after unleashing a blistering attack on Republicans Wednesday.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is at the White House following this for us. So, Brianna, he's kind of reset the agenda like three or four times in a year. What did you pick up on this speech that was new?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's, really, one of the big issues, Chris, is what is new? I think you're really seeing is President Obama trying to just get momentum with his message, not necessarily unveiling new ideas.

The problem for him is he's well into his second term. Now, the iron is no longer hot, and he's struggling to get the upper hand, as he has some battled ahead with congressional Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: It's good to be home in Illinois.

(APPLAUSE)

KEILAR (voice-over): It's the political equivalent of hitting the reset button, leaving a steamy Washington and with it his administration's troubles, controversies, surveillance leaks, a stalled immigration overhaul, and turmoil in the Middle East -- taking his economic message on the road and taking credit as well.

OBAMA: We've been able to clear away the rubble of the financial crisis. We're starting to lay a new for understandings for more durable economic growth.

KEILAR: His case, unemployment following the financial crisis hit 10 percent. Now, it's 7.6 percent, acknowledging we're not out of the woods yet, but warning it is Washington politics and Republicans that could gum up the recovery.

OBAMA: With this endless parade of distractions and political posturing and phony scandals, Washington's taken its eye off the ball. And I'm here to say this needs to stop.

KEILAR: Republicans say not so fast. It looks like deja vu to them.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: With all the build up, you would think the president is unveiling the next Bond film or something. But in all likelihood, it would be more like a midday rerun of some '70s B-movie, because we have heard it all before. KEILAR: Today, Mr. Obama will deliver a third of speeches in the series of speeches over this waning days of summer, this time in Florida. It comes as the NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll shows the majority of Americans disapprove how the president is handling the economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And senior administration officials acknowledge there are really no new ideas, about it seems, Kate, to be much more of a fight for the hearts and minds of Americans. And to that end, you're seeing President Obama emphasized, the middle class, the middle class, the middle class -- trying to borrow from his message that worked so well for him during election.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. We'll see more of that coming up. That's for sure.

All right. Brianna, thank you so much.

Now, Pope Francis is preparing for a massive celebration on Brazil's Copacabana Beach today. And security there is expected to be tight. Four navy ships will be at the ready following a few security scares during his trip this week.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Rio de Janeiro for us this morning. He's been following all of Pope Francis' movement. So, what's the latest, Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is holding a private mass at the moment and will visit a favela or a slum later on today, a very tough place in Rio. It all gives concern about his security, and there has been an ongoing issue with papal security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Despite heavy security, another moment of concern while departing his last function the pope thronged by excited followers someone tosses something to him and he appears to catch it.

And Rio's mayor under fire over security lapses suggested almost mockingly more problems lie ahead. "Protests are not a problem," he says. "They are a part of functioning democracies."

The pope started his day in the southern city of Aparecida. A visit to the Shrine of the Virgin Mary, the 16th statue found by fishermen in the early 1700s is revered here.

He encouraged the faithful to resist earthly temptations.

"The dragon evil is present, but does not have the upper hand" he says. "Our young people feel attracted to idols taking God's place, appearing to offer hope, money, success, power, and pleasure."

Amra (ph) and Zola Dorjbayar are rarities, Catholics from faraway Mongolia. ZOLA DORJBAYAR, MONGOLIA: This is a time for change and I think I'm really happy that's why I'm in the rain for two hours but singing because I'm very excited to see him.

MARQUEZ: Francis' last stop, a Catholic hospital treating addicts hooked on crack cocaine, even meeting some of those in the program.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: And now, here we are live. This is Copacabana Beach. An amazingly enough, despite the rain, it was first a few dozen pilgrims. Now, it's a few hundred pilgrims. It's probably nine hours before the pope makes his appearance, but they are already lining up. They are expecting well over a half million, perhaps into the million range tonight.

Back to you, guys.

CUOMO: Wow, imagine that, Miguel. Close to a million people.

BOLDUAN: I know. And weather is not stopping them, because you saw that rain in Miguel's piece.

CUOMO: It's like a pilgrimage. Not just like going into convention.

BOLDUAN: All right. Miguel, thanks so much.

CUOMO: Very much.

All right. Listen up, everybody. We told you about this mysterious stomach bug has now sickened more than 275 people in nine states. Federal officials are trying to track down the cause, a lot of people suffering nasty flu-like symptoms.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us live in Atlanta. Elizabeth, this is real. What do we know about it?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is real.

What we know, Chris, is that this is a parasite called Cyclospora. And, you know, it's not going to kill you, but you might wish that you were dead, because it's so unpleasant. So, what people feel is things like watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and a low grade fever. The good news is there is medicine for this. It does work very well.

Now, the mystery part of this, Chris, is that they don't know how people are getting this. In the past, people usually got it from produce. So they're sort of focusing their efforts at looking on what produce might be causing this.

CUOMO: All right. So, the obvious question for folks when they're hearing this home is, can I do anything to not get it? Any advice?

COHEN: You know, I'm going to be honest with you here. You can watch your produce, but really the Cyclospora, this parasite, is pretty sticky. And so, you may not be able to wash it off. You should wash your hands, you know, regularly, which you should do anybody. But that might also not -- you know, that's not 100 percent protection.

So, in some ways here, there's not a lot you can do. But if you do get the symptoms, go see your doctor so that you can get medicine quickly.

CUOMO: All right. Thank you very much. Something to look out for. Appreciate it, Elizabeth.

BOLDUAN: There's always trouble when you hear that. You can watch your hands, but it's not going to help.

CUOMO: Which is why I don't do it.

BOLDUAN: Right.

A lot of news developing at this hour, so let's get straight to Michaela for the latest.

PEREIRA: All right. Thanks so much on that icky note. You're not borrowing my pen ever again.

CUOMO: It's a joke.

PEREIRA: I know.

Eight-fourteen. Good morning to you at home. Taking a look at the headlines.

Hazmat teams and firefighters on scene of a cargo train derailment in the port of Tampa. It happened overnight. About 15 rail cars have overturned and are leaking ethanol. You could see there that firefighters have been working to foam on the wreckage.

Tampa fire officials say that cleanup effort should go well into the afternoon. Thankfully, no injuries reported.

He has a new book and some new clothes, but NSA leaker Edward Snowden is still stuck in an airport. On Wednesday, it looked like he might be able to leave the airport, where he has been living for more than a month now. But at the last minute, his temporary asylum request fell through.

Phil Black is live for us in Moscow with the latest twists and turns -- Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Reports in the Russian media that Edward Snowden received the necessary paperwork to leave the airport and into Russia proved not to be true. His lawyer says his application for temporary asylum is taking longer to process than normal, because it is complicated, and in his words, unprecedented.

But it's possible there are other issues in play here, too. Decisions in this case are likely being made from very high within the Russian government and the Russian government knows if it lets Snowden out of this airport, it will trigger an angry reaction from the United States. So, after almost five weeks of camping out here, Edward Snowden has little choice but to continue waiting.

His lawyer says he's taken him a change of clothes and some classic Russian literature to help pass the time, and he says Snowden is now studying Russian culture and Russian language, because he wants to settle here in the long-term, longer than the one-year temporary asylum he has asked for -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Phil Black with the latest from Moscow. Thank you.

A student loan bill is headed to President Obama for his signature. The Senate approved the legislation which ties federal loan rates to financial markets. Now under the deal, undergraduates with more at 3.9 percent. Graduate students, meanwhile, will pay in more for their loans at 5.4 percent. The bill impacts some seven million college students who are headed to fall -- to school, rather, this fall.

All right. Warning, this could be a tough one to watch. Atlanta Braves pitcher, Tim Hudson, will soon have surgery after breaking his ankle -- or having a broken while playing the New York Mets last night. Hudson was working on a shutout when he met Eric Young Jr. hit grounder, and Hudson went over to cover first base. Young stepped on Hudson's leg when he got to first driving the pitcher's ankle into the ground. It's really shocking to watch. We wish him a speedy recovery.

All right. Dogs, I usually do. We're going to frogs this time, because you're tired of dogs.

CUOMO: No, no, I love dogs. But please

PEREIRA: This frog makes me smile so much. Look here.

CUOMO: It's very cute.

PEREIRA: Look at this. Apparently, there's a photographer, 27-year- old from Indonesia spotted this frog in his neighbor's garden, took a picture of it, because this frog fashioned an umbrella out of the leaf. And apparently, he sat there for like 30 minutes with this umbrella over his head. And you think, well, they're amphibious, water. This guy didn't want to get wet. He's like, no, I'm not doing it. I got an umbrella.

CUOMO: He gets big points for figuring it out how to use the leaf as the umbrella, but you lose those points for not knowing to get out of the rain.

PEREIRA: Well, he is out of the rain.

BOLDUAN: You know what, maybe he was, I don't know, maybe he was staging a protest. We don't know.

(CROSSTALK) BOLDUAN: Apparently, the frog was not available for comment.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: It just made me smile.

CUOMO: He doesn't look happy, though. Look at his face.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Do they smile? Do frogs smile?

CUOMO: Look at his face.

BOLDUAN: He is giving you a face right now.

CUOMO: It's not a happy frog. Anybody can see that.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Speaking for the frog.

CUOMO: So, Indra Petersons was right when she said that we were going to have this named storm. That it was going to be Dorian. The question is, where is it going to go now? You got all the answers, Ms. Petersons. What's going to happen next?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we wish we knew perfectly, but let's talk about what we do know. Now, a strong tropical storm. Remember, 39-mile-per-hour steady winds make the tropical storm. We're now seeing steady winds at 60 miles per hour. The other thing we know it's moving quite quickly, west northwesterly, at 17 miles per hour.

So, let's talk about the track. The current thinking that we have right now is with the dome of high pressure is going to pull it right to the west-northwest. So, with that, here's what the cone looks like right now. It's staying through the ocean, obviously, for a long period of time, but eventually, by Monday, we're looking at still remaining a tropical storm, and pretty much right above Puerto Rico.

Thereafter, it looks like by Tuesday, right around Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Now, here's the thing, though. There are so many factors that limit its chances of actually getting there. The other thing we're looking at thought-wise (ph) here if it actually does make it through. Well, we're hoping by the middle of next week that a trough actually pulls it away and away from the shoreline, but again, that is so far away.

It's got a lot of factor here, a lot of dry air to deal with ahead of it. We're also talking about temperatures but may not be warm enough this time of year. So, lot of cool air. We're talking about from 70 as far as ocean water needs to get through first. So, between that and some winds pulling it apart, there is some hope here that it doesn't hold together, but again, I mean, this guy is trying its hardest. And so far, it's still sticking (ph) it out. BOLDUAN: We will try our hardest to make it go away, even though we can do nothing about it.

CUOMO: No. Zero.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: All right. Thanks so much, Indra.

So, in London, you were not right, unfortunately, I'm sorry, but the London odd makers, they were right. Many had George as the favorite name for the royal baby. Prince George Alexander Louie of Cambridge, quite a big name, but that is his name now, and there's a lot of tradition behind that name. So, let's get to CNN's Erin McLaughlin in London to take a closer look at it. Hi, Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate. Well, it is a very traditional name, but actually, it's a short name by royal standards. Most royals have four, five, six, even seven names. It's also a name that's bound to please Queen Elizabeth, her father, after all, with King George VI portrayed by Colin Firth in that academy award-winning film, "The King's Speech."

Alexander, perhaps, a nod to Queen Victoria, her original name was Alexandrina. Although she didn't like it very much and changed her name for the coronation. Louie, perhaps, a nod to Prince Philip, the queen's husband. His favorite uncle was Lord Louis Mountbatten. So, a lot of Windsor in this name. You don't see a lot of Diana. There's no spencer in there. Not a lot of Middleton either, but it's a name that people here seem to be pretty happy with -- Kate and Chris.

BOLDUAN: All right. Erin, thank you so much.

CUOMO: All right. Coming up on NEW DAY, we're going to talk to a close friend of Huma Abedin. She's going to give us insight into the woman who may have just saved the career of her husband.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And another member of the Kennedy family who's getting into public service. JFK's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, is President Obama's choice to become the next U.S. ambassador to Japan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. He's been called many things, but you definitely cannot accuse Anthony Weiner of being a quitter. The former congressman refusing to bow out of the New York City mayor's race, even though he's been caught in another sort of sexting scandal. And this morning, we're learning a lot more about the woman at the center of Weiner's latest online escapades. Here's Randi Kaye with a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The woman at the center of the latest Anthony Weiner sexting scandal is Sydney Leathers who also identifies herself online as Sydney Elaine XO. We don't know much about her, but we do know she's very comfortable in her own skin. These are just some of the picture she posted of herself on Twitter that have since been removed. So, how did she meet Anthony Weiner? Lou Colagiovanni is a friend of Leathers.

LOU COLAGIOVANNI, ACQUAINTANCE OF SYDNEY LEATHERS: She initially contacted him through Twitter. She was a fan.

KAYE: Colagiovanni says the conversations quickly turned from politics to sex. This was the results, dozens and dozens of sexually explicit text messages and photographs, including images of his anatomy that are simply too explicit to show here. Their online relationship continued for quite a while.

COLAGIOVANNI: It's been around for eight or nine, maybe even possibly a year.

KAYE (on-camera): We came here to Princeton, Indiana hoping to talk with Sydney Leathers about her communication and relationship with Anthony Weiner. This is where a friend of hers who asked not to be identified told me she lived with her father. Nobody answered the door when we went inside.

That same friend also told me that Sydney Leathers never mentioned Anthony Weiner by name, but did say she had met a lot of people with strong political context online. Politics was her passion.

(on-camera) It seems long before Sydney Leathers first communicated with Anthony Weiner she had an eye on him. One of her websites that's since been removed listed him as one of her heroes. Sydney Leathers is now 23. Her friend says she never slept with Anthony Weiner or took any money from him, but that he did offer to help her get an apartment in Chicago and suggested he visit her.

At one point, she told the website, thedirty.com that Weiner asked her, quote, "do me a solid and hard-delete all our chats."

Randi Kaye, CNN, Princeton, Indiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: All right. Also this morning, we're learning more about the woman who's standing beside sticking with her man, Huma Abedin. And to talk more about this is Binta Niambi Brown, an attorney who's known Huma for a decade now. Just last month, she co-hosted a fundraising event for Anthony Weiner here in New York City. Thank you for coming in and talking about this.

BINTA NIAMBI BROWN, ATTORNEY, HAS KNOWN HUMA ABEDIN FOR A DECADE: My pleasure.

BOLDUAN: So, many people are asking one question, and they did first time around when this came out and they are asking the same question this time around. Why is Huma, why is she staying with him? How do we answer that question?

BROWN: First of all, it's a strange question to me, which reveals a somewhat cavalier attitude towards marriage, which is a really inherently complicated thing, right? I'm not married, but anybody who's been married knows how hard it is. The reason why she's staying with him to me, and you know, based on my conversations with her, it's pretty clear, she loves her husband and she has a young son.

And she wants her son to know his father. From my perspective, it's commendable with all of this attention and these difficult times for her to do whatever she can do to work through the problems they're going through.

BOLDUAN: Not many people have to deal with their marital problems in such a public way.

BROWN: Right.

BOLDUAN: How difficult the first time around and now the second time around? How difficult has this been for her?

BROWN: I mean, you can only imagine, right? I mean, if you were to go like -- go through something like this in private, it would be hard enough, but when you're doing it in public and there are people who don't know you and maybe have never even really thought of you before, but you're just this person who -- maybe they have seen you on television, maybe they haven't, saying things that are so far from who you are and calling your character and your goodness as a person into question. I mean, it's deeply traumatic.

BOLDUAN: Now, I want to ask you -- my colleague, our White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, she spoke to a friend of Huma's, who said that when Huma found out about this, that she had said she was done, she was leaving him, and that was her mindset for quite some time.

BROWN: Right.

BOLDUAN: What changed her mind then? Some would say this is going to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

BROWN: I think she saw that Anthony was a good father to Jordan and I think she wants to make sure that her son knows his father and has a relationship with his father and she's interested in keeping her family together. I mean, that is absolutely right, you know, the first impulse, the first instinct was to get out of there and to retreat even further.

Huma -- anybody who knows Huma knows she's a pretty pride person, but, you know, after time and consideration and just wanting to do what's best for her family, that's what's been motivating her.

BOLDUAN: You realize -- you're very close with her, obviously, and maybe in Washington, a lot of people know her as the person you always see in a picture over Hillary Clinton's shoulder at the state department.

But this week was really the first time many people across the country had ever heard her speak, maybe the first time any people had ever heard of her outside of -- you know, especially related to the scandal. I want to play a little bit of what she said at the press conference earlier this week.

BROWN: Sure.

BOLDUAN: Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUMA ABEDIN, ANTHONY WEINER'S WIFE: Anthony's made some horrible mistake, both before he resigned to Congress and after. But I do very strongly believe that that is between us. I love him. I have forgiven him. I believe in him. And as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I can only imagine how difficult it is for someone to have to stand there and say that, but the woman that you see there in that press conference, is that the Huma that you know?