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Chris Christie Apologizes; Guilty Misdemeanor Plea in Teen Rape Case

Aired January 09, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: To not disclose the information of their involvement to me when directly asked by their superior.

Ultimately, I am responsible for what happens under my watch, the good and the bad. And when mistakes are made, then I have to own up to them and take the action that I believe is necessary in order to remediate them.

As I mentioned to you earlier, I spent all day yesterday digging in to talking to folks and getting to the bottom of things. I know there was much discussion yesterday about, what was I doing? Well, let me tell you everybody, I was blindsided yesterday morning. I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or its execution, and I am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here, regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover.

This was handled in a callous and indifferent way and is not the way this administration has conducted itself over the last four years and not the way it conducted itself over the next four.

I am heartbroken about it and I'm incredibly disappointed. I don't think I have gotten to the angry stage yet, but I am sure I will get there. But I'm just stunned. And what does it make me ask about me? It makes me ask about me, what did I do wrong to have these folks think it was OK to lie to me?

And there is a lot of soul-searching that goes around with this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: The final bit of what he just said was actually just in response to this man's question, John King. Our national correspondent was sitting mere feet from the governor of New Jersey.

You were in the room.

John King, take us inside. And also just in listening to who seemed like a much more muted or measured governor from the normal Chris Christie we are used to seeing in news conferences such as these, how do you think he did?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, if the facts that come out in the weeks and perhaps months of investigations that follow support the governor, and there is nothing, zero evidence that show he was involved in this, that he knew about it before yesterday, that he even in any way inspired a culture or said anything nasty about the mayor of Fort Lee, all of which he said he did not do and did not know, was not involved, feels betrayed and humiliated.

You just played the sound there. If the facts support the governor throughout the investigations, then he probably did a good pretty job today. In terms of political theater and political drama, it was fascinating inside that room. And you mentioned part of it.

This is a man who is known for being combative, who is known for whether it's somebody asking him at a town hall or a reporter at the press conference who doesn't like their question saying that is stupid or that is silly or go away. Instead, he was very measured and very calm and stayed in the room for, what, an hour and 48 minutes and kept answering questions about it because he knew the stakes of the moment.

His personal credibility is at stake and his political viability, both as he prepares to begin his second term as governor and came out with a big landslide win. Everything thinks he has a big mandate. Will Democrats here now say the wind is out of his sails and potentially as he moves on to the national stage in 2014 maybe running for president in 2016.

It was clear governor understood the gravity of the moment and he was trying to make clear he will hold anyone accountable. Two people today, he says, if the facts turn up more, he will hold them accountable. I would he did not lose this day. His supporters think he won and we will watch how it goes forward.

BALDWIN: One of the many questions moving forward is why did this inner circle, as he referred to his inner circle as family, why would these staffers do that? What would their motivation be?

Let me just play part of the exchange and we will talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I'm just asking what do you ask yourself about - they either thought this was what the boss wanted, or as a group they were willing to go rogue and do this and then tried to cover it up and then lie to you?

CHRISTIE: Well, listen, obviously -- I said earlier, John, I'm heartbroken about it, and I'm incredibly disappointed. I don't think I have gotten to the angry stage yet, but I'm sure I will get there, but I'm just stunned. What does it make me ask about me? It makes me ask about me what did I do wrong to have these folks think it was okay to lie to me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What did I do wrong? We were all listening, John, so carefully to his answer. I know some of the questions had been bigger picture really leadership questions, because let's say -- let's take him at his word that he knew absolutely nothing and that he was blindsided as he said yesterday morning.

Still, is there something bigger here, if he does have national aspirations to think these are the people he would select to be closest to him?

KING: That is the question.

Remember, Republicans have been very critical of President Obama when he says he doesn't know the NSA was monitoring Angela Merkel, the chancellor of German's phone. He said I didn't know. When there were mornings at the White House that the Web site, Obamacare Web site wasn't going to work, the president said, I didn't know.

And Republicans have vilified the president, saying what kind of leader are you then? What kind of manager are you? What kind of CEO are you? What kind of president are you? Well, that's the same questions now that Governor Christie will face. What is the leadership culture and the management culture inside his office?

What was his judgment in picking now about a handful of people who were involved in this that we know of? We will see where the investigation goes. They were in his inner circle. These were not number 664,000 in the state employees. These were the people in the top 10 or 20 of his closer inner circle who did this.

And so either -- what made them think he wanted them to do this if he knew nothing about it? What made them think the boss would support something like this or what made them be the types of people who knowing the stakes for their governor politically in a reelection campaign when he is thinking about running for president, if he didn't wanted them to do this, and it's clear they tried to cover it up so they understood how important it was, why would they do that?

How did he let people so close the him who would so burn him, if you will, Brooke. That's the question he says he will ask himself now.

BALDWIN: John King in Trenton, John, thank you so much.

Just a short time ago, I talked to Christie's opponent in the recent gubernatorial race in New Jersey. She is State Senator Barbara Buono. You may remember Buono's name because her last name was specifically mentioned in one of those controversial message exchanges linked to the whole traffic lane closure on the George Washington Bridge from back in September.

And the messages feature Christie's former Port Authority appointee who he's known for years and years, David Wildstein. This is this text message. An unknown person asks this. "Is it wrong that I'm smiling? I feel badly about the kids, I guess," talking about the kids heading to school on the bridge. They are delayed.

David Wildstein texted his reply: "They're the children of Buono voters."

Here is Barbara Buono, her reacting to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA BUONO (D), NEW JERSEY STATE SENATOR: These e-mails reveal a tangled web of deceit, of subterfuge, of political payback.

I have a hard time believing the governor knew nothing about it. What really surprised me and what blew me away is the abject -- just they didn't care. They just didn't care about the impact on regular people and on the children. It was so glib.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Again, Governor Christie said he was blindsided and that was his precise word, that he was embarrassed by the messages between his staffer and that he did not know of any link between his staff and the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.

You can watch that whole exchange I had with Senator Buono. We will put at CNN.com/Brooke.

Let me bring in another voice. She is S.E. Cupp. You know her as one of the conservative hosts of CNN "CROSSFIRE."

S.E.,, nice to have you on.

S.E. CUPP, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Thanks.

BALDWIN: There is no love lost of among a number of conservatives when it comes to Chris Christie. Just take a look as one example. Today, this is outside of CNN, Glenn Beck tweeted today calling Christie fat and furious. You watched.

Did you think he was sincere in his apology?

CUPP: I did.

Yesterday, I was one of I think a lot of people who were really skeptical at the idea of a notion that Chris Christie had absolutely no knowledge or involvement about the lane closure payback scandal.

We all thought I think that he had to have some knowledge, if not explicit experience in that situation giving an order of some kind. But, today, frankly, his press conference was very convincing.

Not only did he hit all of the right notes. I'm sad, I'm sorry, I'm responsible and I'm accountable and I'm embarrassed. He also really spent over two hours answering every question I thought very patiently, which he is unaccustomed to, very patiently answering a lot of questions and admitting, look, I'm responsible. The buck stops with me and I will get to the bottom of this. I was blindsided as hard.

As it is to believe, I think I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. If it comes out over the next few weeks and there will be investigations, that he knew of an inkling, even the smallest inkling that something like this was going to happen, his credibility is gone, those were bald-faced lies he just told to the American people, if this turns out not to be true. I hope for his sake it is.

BALDWIN: The federal government is investigating. Let me just point that out.

But back to Glenn Beck, with full transparency, he's your boss also. You work for CNN and you work for Glenn Beck. Why does Glenn Beck detest Chris Christie so much?

CUPP: Yes, I interviewed him for -- when I filled for Piers Morgan and I think what he called him then was a fast disaster. Yes.

BALDWIN: Why? A fat nightmare, I think it was.

CUPP: He really eschews establishment Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the aisle.

He likes free thinkers, folks who are outside of the box, not beholden to anyone. And I think he sees Chris Christie as a type-A politician and he finds that really uninspiring. I'm sure he's not alone. There are plenty of far-left Tea Party conservatives who have real problems with Chris Christie, and then even some moderates who are concerned that he won't play as well in places like North Carolina or Iowa.

As popular as he is and as many people like him and as many people want him to run for president, he has still got some issues inside the party. And frankly this is not going to help. It's not going to be as easy as he thinks to go back to the RGA and fund-raise and speak alongside other Republican governors.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: He's still a pretty popular guy, because when you look at our latest polling, S.E. Cupp, let's throw this up on the screen, it shows Chris Christie is the only candidate among registered voters who could beat Hillary Clinton.

You see the numbers, two percentage points ahead. Final thought would be what if it comes out that he is telling the truth, that he was totally blindsided by this, had nothing, had nothing, had nothing to do with this? Do you still think this whole thing taints him as a candidate?

CUPP: Well, it does not paint a pretty picture of politics in Trenton.

And his hands are not clean even if he knew nothing about it. He admits he is ultimately responsible, but Democrats will try to hang him on this. Over the course of investigations and over the course of the next few months, Democrats are going to be after him about it. That could paint an ugly narrative, whether it's true or not.

It could likewise result in a bit of overreach for Democrats. If it really, truly turns out Chris Christie was blindsided and betrayed by his own staff members and acted quickly and decisively and then really sort of recovers and moves on to a new storyline, this is totally survivable.

BALDWIN: S.E. Cupp, good to see you. We see you each and every night as much as we can 6:30 p.m. on "CROSSFIRE" right here on CNN.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We are all over this story for you. It is a fast-moving story and lots of parts. We will have much more on Chris Christie on where this goes from here of course throughout the hour.

Coming up next, who are people in New Jersey are reacting to the scandal and this 108-minute news conference on behalf of their governor today? CNN watched the news conference with people who live there. You will hear their direct response to what he had to say.

A little later, could Chris Christie actually face criminal charges for this whole bridge closer debacle? Alan Dershowitz, nationally renowned lawyer Alan Dershowitz, says yes. We will talk to him live, get his perspective and hear why he thinks the law says Christie could face legal trouble. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie reacting to this bridge scandal by firing a top aide and he apologized to pretty much everyone over his staff's conduct in the George Washington Bridge lane closings that jammed traffic for four days back in September.

Many people in Fort Lee, New Jersey, were affected, and so CNN asked them what they thought of the governor's remarks today. Here's what they told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like him, but we have an ethical issues. We got to resolve that. We got to start somewhere. And that man was about to run for president. And if this is what you're doing on a parochial level or a local level, can you imagine this guy with foreign policy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was rather stupid because even though politics are what they are, there would be more subtle ways to accomplish whatever goals they may have had in a feud with the mayor in terms of political endorsements. But to do it that way is ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he is doing the right thing. He feels it in his soul that he didn't do anything wrong and they are trying to get him. They don't want him to run. It's not the good, nice politics of yesteryear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That's just some of what people told us. Others said Christie absolutely handled the news conference well, that they say, yes, indeed, he is a trustworthy leader. Christie saying today that he is planning to head to Fort Lee, New Jersey, today to visit the mayor to apologize face-to-face. Again, this is the city where the lanes on the bridge were closed, the bridge the busiest bridge in the U.S. and it connects Manhattan to Fort Lee. Christie says once again he wants to apologize in person.

Jason Carroll is live in Fort Lee, New Jersey, right now.

What is the reaction specifically from the mayor there?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you know, Brooke, there is a lot of back and forth with this whole episode of whether or not the governor was actually going to come here to Fort Lee and end up meeting with the mayor.

At first, Mark Sokolich basically said he felt as though the governor coming here would be premature. He felt as though it would be disruptive for the community, a community that clearly has already been disrupted because of what happened.

But through all this back and forth, the decision was finally made the governor is going to come him. We're told he will chopper his way in. Apparently, he will land at a high school just about a half-block from here. Barricades have already been set up in the area awaiting his arrival.

We're told that the meeting should take place around 3:30, possibly 4:00. The meeting will take place behind closed doors. But once again the mayor made it very clear -- you remember when Governor Christie was holding that marathon press conference. The mayor here was holding a press conference of his own. And when the word got to him that the government was coming, initially, he said not a good idea. I want you to listen who to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK SOKOLICH (D), MAYOR OF FORT LEE, NEW JERSEY: We are only asking in as polite and as respectful a way, please, please, we have been through a lot.

We are not saying no. We welcome the apology. As a matter of fact, I may have even asked for one. It's just that to do it now in light of what has transpired over the last 24 hours, it's just going to cause more chaos in Fort Lee. We don't need it at this point.

And I have got to tell you, I think you ought to wait for this investigation to conclude. Otherwise, we're going to be spending a lot of gas coming up and down the turnpike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Now, initially, Brooke, when Christie was questioned during his press conference about coming here, he said, well, if the mayor doesn't want to meet with me, I will come to Fort Lee anyway and meet with other people. But once again the mayor here, Mark Sokolich, finally saying if the governor wants to come, I will meet with him. He will not be turned away again. We are waiting for that meeting. It should be taking place anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes from now, possibly longer. When you have got both sides are moving, these moving parts, you have a lot that has to take place before these two men can get together behind closed doors.

We are hoping once that meeting is over, we will hear from the mayor again about how that meeting went and possibly hear from the governor as well -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Could hear from both of them, the governor too also saying he wanted to apologize, saying he wanted to apologize the folks of Fort Lee. We will wait and see if he takes the time to do that as well today.

Jason Carroll for us in Fort Lee, we will stay in close touch with you.

Could Chris Christie face criminal charges in this whole bridge scandal? One prominent lawyer said yes. We will talk to him live. Plus, more breaking news out of Missouri today. A teenage girl accused another student of rape and said she was cyber-bullied and eventually run out of town. And now we know whether the accused rapist will be charged. That's next. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

A major turn of events in the case of a Missouri girl who said she was raped. Daisy Coleman said she was not only cyber-bullied after going to police. She says her family was run out of her town of Maryville, Missouri.

The prosecutor just moments ago said that Coleman and her mother accept the plea deal that just happened today. The accused rapist, Matthew Barnett, has pleaded guilty a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment and that's for leaving Coleman, who was 14 at the time, outside of her home, drunk in some 20-degree weather. Barnett will do community service and he has to apologize to Coleman. He had no comment for reporters outside the court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY HOBBS, ATTORNEY: Matthew Barnett accepts full responsibility for the conduct charged in the information.

We are pleased that the court accepted Mr. Barnett's misdemeanor plea and the agreement of the parties. To be clear, the misdemeanor charge which Mr. Barnett pled guilty accurately reflects the conduct for which he should be held accountable.

Two highly skilled prosecutors from two different jurisdictions have now independently concluded that felony charges are not appropriate in this matter. Further, there is absolutely no evidence that political favoritism played a role in the decision of either prosecutor.

JEAN PETERS BAKER, PROSECUTOR: Some of you are probably going to ask, there were no sex charges. Why is that? As a prosecutor, I'm telling you I stand here by my oath always. And my job is to analyze evidence. In this case, there was insufficient evidence to go forward on a sexual assault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go straight Kyung Lah, who is standing outside of that courthouse there in Maryville, Missouri.

Kyung, you were inside for the hearing. Tell me more about what you saw and heard.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was actually quite a brief hearing. When we finally got the papers acknowledging what this was going to be, it was the first hearing on this misdemeanor charge.

Basically, he was charged and then he immediately filed a plea deal. We actually saw him sign the guilty plea saying that this effectively ended his run in the courts. He said that he did not want a trial and that he was going to plead guilty for this misdemeanor charge of child endangerment for leaving this girl outside her parents' home wearing only yoga pants and a shirt in the dead of winter.

Brooke, basically, the legal system has run this course by accepting this and by finding out through the special prosecutor that there was not enough evidence to file any further charges. This is where Matthew Barnett will now spend two years on probation.

BALDWIN: Just one more quickly to you, Kyung. How is Daisy Coleman doing?

LAH: We spoke to her mother very briefly. She did not want to come here to court, that she wanted to be with her daughter. That is something that was also acknowledged by one of the attorneys here.

She is still in the hospital, we understand. She attempted to take her own life over the weekend. This is something that her mother had told CNN. She was still being subjected to bullying over Facebook and obviously a young woman who is still struggling in the aftermath of all this.

BALDWIN: Kyung Lah, thank you so much for us in Missouri.

And to our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin and Darren Kavinoky.

Sunny, first to you. Your reaction?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think we have to listen very carefully to what the special prosecutor said, which is she analyzed the evidence and she didn't have enough evidence to go forward.

Prosecutors have to have enough evidence to go forward. And oftentimes, I say it's not what happened. It's what you can prove. And so I think that it's important to note that. It's in some ways somewhat of a victory for this victory because he is being held accountable at least for part of his behavior which she has consistently happened, that he left her out in the cold, 20-degree weather in almost nothing.

And so that I think is a victory somewhat. But let's remember that she accused him of rape. She was taken to the hospital, Brooke, and a rape examination was conducted. Many people believed that there was evidence of rape. This defendant said that it was consensual sex. Yet we know that she was completely inebriated.

And so I think this is actually a sad day for victims of crime, especially sexual assaults, because that is why victims of sexual assaults don't come forward, because they get dragged through the mud and we know that this young girl was just sort of vilified on Facebook and harassed on Facebook by her own community of young girls, and sort of is wearing this scarlet letter that we often see of victims of sexual assault.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Sounds like she still is, according to this family.

HOSTIN: I'm saddened.

BALDWIN: And, Darren, from the defense perspective -- and I hear you agreeing with Sunny and saying it's not necessarily what happened, but what you can prove, but how do you see this?

DARREN KAVINOKY, ATTORNEY: Well, it's so interesting because while I agree with a lot of what Sunny just said, to the extent that it's a victory, I see it as a hollow one.

And from the defense perspective, I really understand why we got to this place. There was a lot of controversy about whether or not Daisy was cooperative or whether she was interfering or at least not cooperating with the investigation.

If you will remember, the original sheriff and the original prosecutor said that she was uncooperative and that all the key witnesses not only were uncooperative, but actually were asserting their Fifth Amendment privilege not to incriminate themselves. So, that's why the special prosecutor got involved, because of the public outcry.

I get that now the special prosecutor sees that there is difficulty in moving forward with the case. All of that said, I know that there's cases that have been prosecuted on less.

HOSTIN: Right.