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Identifying Beheader; ISIS Recruiting; Michael Brown Laid to Rest; Profiling Officer Wilson

Aired August 25, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Meeting tomorrow, of course.

That's it for me. I'll be back, 5:00 p.m. Eastern, a two-hour edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM."

In the meantime, "NEWSROOM" with Ana Cabrera, filling in for Brooke Baldwin, starts right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Ana Cabrera, in for Brooke today. Thanks so much for being here.

Right now, the funeral for Michael Brown is just wrapping up. He is, of course, the unarmed 18-year-old who was shot to death by a police officer in broad daylight more than two weeks ago. There is his mother, giving hugs, thanking people for coming. His death, of course, sparked protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and all across the nation. We will take you there live to the funeral and show you more reaction in just a few minutes.

But first we have to start today with ISIS, because this ISIS terrorist army, as some have characterized them, wreaking havoc in Iraq has captured a major military base now in Iraq's neighboring country of Syria. Take a look at these. These are ISIS fighters, quite possibly including brand new recruits, and they are marauding as we speak through the Syrian city, Al-Taqba after rooting the Syrian army at that military base.

So what does this actually mean? Well, here's what it means. It means ISIS now controls an entire Syrian province. Raqqa province, which it hopes to build out by stealing vast chunks of both Syria and Iraq. And this sounds crazy, but it's happening and it's happening fast. Hang on to that thought for just a moment. We'll get back to it.

But first, we do need to address the threat that ISIS could pose to Europe and even the United States. Here's the deal on that. That menacing man in black on the right is the ISIS terrorist who recently beheaded American journalist, James Foley. He is believed to be from London, which could make him one of just hundreds of Europeans and dozens of Americans now believed to be fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Now, U.S. officials, right up to the defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, started warning last week that English-speaking ISIS fighters could quietly infiltrate the U.S. and bring their horrifying war to American soil. We're going to start in London. CNN's Atika Schubert is there for us live right now with some new information on the race to identify that man.

Atika, what can you tell us?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of the focus has been on the audio of that man in the video. He has a very distinctive British accent. But now some new developments on the video, as well. You can see a number of video edit cuts there, which suggest that they haven't shown the entire killing there, but also the possibility that the man who's speaking there may not also be the man who actually does the killing. So this is one of the aspects that investigators are now looking at. They're really looking at every little detail of that video to determine who is the man who -- in that video and whether or not he actually is the one who ultimately killed James Foley. So this is what they're looking at.

But they're also looking at a number of other angles, as well. Former jihadists that have come back here to the U.K., looking to see whether they have any connections to him or any other militants that are out there.

CABRERA: Atika, we heard yesterday from the British ambassador to the U.S. tell our Candy Crowley that they believe they are close to identifying James Foley's killer. What more do we know about ISIS recruits coming from the U.K.?

SHUBERT: Well, what we know is that there are an estimated 400 to 500 young men, but also a few women, that have gone to fight in Syria. And specifically, to help establish an Islamic Caliphate. Now that sounds like a lot, but take into consideration that there are thousands across Europe and Britain is just one of the countries. Belgium has quite a few hundred. And France has about 700. So there are a lot of them coming from Europe.

Now what the British investigators are doing is trying to narrow down all of the people that they do know that have gone out there and try and see if they can find this one man. And it's quite possible that British investigators have already identified him, but simply don't want to say, because remember, in addition to Steven Sotloff, there are a number of other hostages still being held. So their safety has to be a priority for the British government.

CABRERA: All right. Atika Shubert, thank you.

The roster of people joining this terrorist group, ISIS, is growing. But its members are not just from Iraq and Syria, as Atika was discussing. ISIS is recruiting citizens from all over the globe, including the United States. And CNN's Jean Casarez is here with a closer look at how ISIS is recruiting people.

Jean, you've been learning that they are targeting members who are primarily younger in nearly 100 countries.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's the amazing thing. They have a PR division within ISIS, which I think is shocking to many people because you don't think about that ISIS would be so sophisticated to have a PR department. But they do. Eighty-three countries is what we're understanding that ISIS has recruited from so far including France, Germany, obviously Britain, Australia, New Zealand. I mean it just goes around the globe, including even Malaysian and Indonesia. And let's not forget the United States. They're saying at least 100 recruits from right here on our soil.

CABRERA: And we know one of them is from Colorado, that she has been arrested by the FBI and is under investigation. So there's a fact right there.

You know, it's interesting that they seem to have developed a very smart strategy from their perspective in being able to recruit people, yet ISIS is just so extreme that even al Qaeda didn't want to be connected to this group and said, no, you can't be our group.

CASAREZ: You know what it really is are the recruitment videos because the recruitment videos are now showing a docile, kind group called ISIS that can make your dreams come true. And we've really been studying some of these and we're going to have a piece on this later tonight just focused on the recruitment efforts in English, because there are many, many people from Australia and Britain that are speaking in these videos. And recruits are being given money and other gifts. Women are being recruited. And the real concern is, with all of these western companies -- countries, that they will have western passports. They can come back to this country.

CABRERA: Right.

CASAREZ: They can come back for illicit reasons. But also, my experts are saying, that they can come back to the communities to live their life as they once had because they're tired of being a part of ISIS, but their loyalties can change, their beliefs can change and that can be security concerns for that community.

CABRERA: Well, and we're talking about here in the U.S., we'd know that there are intelligence people everywhere, they have their ways. But in general, how do these native countries track potential recruits?

CASAREZ: It says it's community awareness. You need to be aware of people that seem to profess those type of views, when they suddenly leave and they're gone, you have to know who they are. And it's just sort of like a neighborhood watch on this national security level.

CABRERA: It's an interesting conversation. Jean Casarez, thanks so much for being here.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

CABRERA: Up next, emotional moments from inside Michael Brown's funeral. Civil rights leaders, Hollywood celebrities, members of the White House staff even attended the services there in Ferguson. This as Brown's mother meets Trayvon Martin's mother for the first time. And they talk about grieving together. They'll hear -- we'll show you what they said.

Plus, we are also hearing warnings about ISIS militants targeting the U.S. There are more concerns about a visa program that some lawmakers say could be a security weaknesses, allowing potential terrorists inside America without a visa. This is CNN's special live coverage.

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CABRERA: Today in Missouri, it's prayer, not protests, faith, not fury, as Michael Brown is laid to rest. More than 4,500 people bear 90-degree-plus heat to pack this Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. It has been 16 days since a white Ferguson police officer shot and killed Brown, who had no weapon. His body left to lay in the street for hours.

Now, the 18-year-old is memorialized. His life celebrated before some 500 members of his own family, along with Missouri's governor, civil rights advocates, including Martin Luther King Jr. III. Now, Hollywood celebrities were there, including Spike Lee, as well as three members of the White House staff. One of those White House staffers is a St. Louis native, who apparently went to high school with Brown's mother, who is wearing red today, you see. And so far, people abided by the request from Brown's father, who called for peace and no demonstrations on the day of his son's burial.

Here now moments from what organizer's call Michael Brown's home-going celebration as the family shares their loss with, of course, many strangers who will not forget who their son was and how he died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): You saw the best in me. Ooh and everyone else around could only see the worst in me. Can I get a witness in the room this morning, whoa oh he saw the best in me.

ERIC DAVIS, MICHAEL BROWN JR.'S COUSIN: I know that Michael would be smiling that big gentle smile that he always gives whenever he greeted you. Because Michael was a big guy, but he was a kind, gentle soul. And before he left this earth, the day that he was killed, he was out spreading the word of Jesus Christ. This moment, Michael also stated to the family that one day the world would know his name.

CAL BROWN, MICHAEL BROWN JR.'S STEPMOTHER: The day that Mike-Mike graduated, we went to the graduation and then we took him out to - to lunch. And his entire talk was about God. He said, Cal, I feel like I am god. I've got so much going inside of me, and I just - I know that the world is someday going to know my name. He said, I'm going to shake (ph) the world. And I promise you that he has.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While this tragic loss will always be with you, the step by step, one foot in front of the other, march of time will ultimately bring you to a divine place where you will laugh again, you will find the joy of living again as your thinking shifts from tragedy to the joyful reflection of good times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in CNN's Jake Tapper. He was at the funeral. He's now in Ferguson. Jake, clearly so many people were touched by Michael Brown's story, by

his death. Thousands of people in attendance there, including even Trayvon Martin's parents, who know what it's like to be in Brown's family's shoes. What a day of reflection there in Ferguson.

JAKE TAPPER, HOST, CNN'S "THE LEAD": Well, it is. And, you know, there's nothing that can fill the chasm of loss for a family that is burying a child. But if there's anything that the Brown family can take from today, it's that their son's life and his -- the loss of his life was noticed, not just by the community of Ferguson or this larger community of St. Louis, but by the nation at large, with the White House sending a delegation, with public officials being here, with civil rights leaders. It's clearly a loss that beyond the event itself has taken on meaning and a greater significance for millions of Americans, Ana.

CABRERA: Yes, it sparked a much broader conversation about race in America. And we know there are a bevy of politicians, entertainers who are there. We mentioned Spike Lee, MLK III, the White House reps., even Snoop Dogg and P. Ditty. What do you think is the impact of having these really high-profile people present?

TAPPER: Well, it's a double-edged sword, really. I think it can be of immense comfort for people here in St. Louis, especially people who knew Michael Brown, to see that there are national and international figures who not only noticed his loss, but are here. But to be completely candid, I think it's also fair to say that there are Americans out there seeing people like Spike Lee and P. Ditty and others come to an event like this and that makes them take the event less seriously. That makes them take the event more as the kind of media circus that I think some Americans view it as.

And then to be also equally candid when it comes to the White House sending a delegation, there are those who think that that means that the White House is basically weighing in on what is before the grand jury right now, an issue of whether or not this was a good shooting and whether or not Officer Darren Wilson did this with malice or did this because he legitimately felt his life was threatened.

Now, there are those in the White House and those public officials who are here who say this is about showing this family, the Brown family, that Michael Brown's life had meaning and we are merely trying to provide some comfort at a time of mourning, but to people who support Officer Darren Wilson, it seems like the deck is stacked against their man, Ana.

CABRERA: Yes, the story is not over just yet. Jake Tapper there in St. Louis, Missouri. Thank you.

Up next, one legal columnist says the federal investigation into the police officer who shot Michael Brown is solely based on race. And, in fact, he is calling Eric Holder a racial profiler himself. We'll debate that.

Plus, just a day after its biggest earthquake in 25 years, northern California getting hit with aftershocks today. This as we learn the early estimate of just how much damage that earthquake caused and how much wine Napa lost.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: President Obama hasn't had -- really had a lot to say about the Michael Brown case. And when he has spoken out, he has taken a rather cautious approach. But that does not apply to his attorney general, Eric Holder. He traveled to Missouri just last week, where he met with students, citizens, law enforcement in that area, and Michael Brown's family. Holder even talked about being stopped by police himself years ago just because he says he was running down a D.C. sidewalk.

But writer Andrew McCarthy (ph), he argues Holder is maybe too focused on race. He cites the Justice Department's decision to open the civil rights investigation of the Michael Brown shooting as a case of, quote, "racial profiling." In McCarthy's words, "it is a violation of federal law to subject a person to criminal investigation solely on the basis of his race. It is no more legitimate for the Justice Department to target a white cop for being white than for a white cop to target a black man for being black. Both would be examples of what the civil rights laws call deprivation of rights under color of law."

So that opens a big can of worms. I'm joined by CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and criminal defense attorney Danny Cevallos.

Thank you both for being here.

Jeffrey, I want to start with you. McCarthy argues that Officer Darren Wilson is really being investigated simply because he's white and that there is not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is a racist and killed Brown simply because of his race. What do you think? Is this a meritable argument?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I disagree with the argument. Look, this is just an investigation. He is not - he -- Officer Wilson has not been prosecuted yet. But certainly there are appropriate grounds to investigate him for a civil rights violation. You don't need to say, I am shooting you because you are a black person, to prove someone has racial motives.

Think of the Rodney King case. That was a case of a successful civil rights prosecution by the federal government where there was not an explicit racial hatred expressed by the defendants but the jury could infer by the circumstances a motive to deny Rodney King of his rights. Certainly, if you look at the facts of Michael Brown's death, it merits an investigation by the Justice Department about whether charges should be filed. Should they be filed? I don't know. We need to know a lot more. But I think Eric Holder is doing exactly the right thing by starting the investigation.

CABRERA: Danny, do you agree?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, look, the Department of Justice is a political creature. That's not a criticism. It's actually the way it's designed under the Constitution. What do I mean by that? I mean this. Federal law is so broadly drafted -- and this is a perfect example, that arguably, under Section 242, the color of rights deprivation that we're talking about, virtually any police excessive force case could arguably be a violation of a federal law. The reality is, is that the federal government doesn't prosecute the vast majority of these because, as it's designed to, it leaves that prosecution to local authorities under local law. So the decision by the DOJ to ever prosecute is, by definition, a political decision, because they are designed -- they have to cherry-pick.

In a case like this, it's important to remember that the deprivation of rights that we're talking about, there doesn't even need to be a racial animus. That's how broadly it's drafted. As long as you have the color requirement, which is not race, it just means a police officer acting under his authority. And then you have the deprivation of some constitutional right, which does not need to be racially motivated. It can be life, which is exactly the case here.

So in a way, I would argue that federal law is even broader than requiring any racial motive. And Eric Holder doesn't need a racial motive to be here. Whether or not he is, in fact, motivated by some racial issue is another discussion.

CABRERA: Well, you know, it's interesting because you brought up, there are a lot of other cases that people can point to and say, well, the attorney general didn't get involved in that, didn't open a federal investigation. We know there are African-Americans who are shot by police officers in many other cases in had states where the federal government hasn't gotten involved. So why now, Jeffrey?

TOOBIN: Well because I think if you look at the circumstances of this shooting, and a definitely unarmed person who, according to several witnesses, was walking away, posing no threat to Officer Wilson, you could suspect, and you should investigate, whether there was a possible racial motive. Look at the other shooting in St. Louis a couple of days later where a deranged person apparently with a knife was shot by the police. That does not merit a federal investigation because it just seems like the facts are very straight forward. The facts of the Michael Brown shooting are not straight forward and they certainly suggest the possibility of a racial motive and that's why we have a federal Department of Justice and that's why FBI agents are out there appropriately looking for evidence.

CABRERA: Does it seem, though, that there's maybe a public perception, the fact that Eric Holder went and spoke with the family of Michael Brown, the fact that the White House sent three aides to the funeral today, that perhaps they're taking sides or there's an appearance that the federal government is taking sides in this case, Danny?

CEVALLOS: There may be an appearance, but the federal government itself -- remember, the DOJ is a law enforcement agency. They do prosecute people. So the fact that he goes there and meets with the family is something that a prosecutor might do in a normal case. But could it be perceived as some political act by Eric Holder or the DOJ? Yes. But then again, like I said before, each and every instance where the DOJ prosecutes is, by definition, a selection. It's a choice. They have chosen this case instead of that case. And when you do that, inherently, by definition, it's political. TOOBIN: But remember, too, you know, when -- by the time Eric Holder

got there, there had been near riots, there had been looting.

CABRERA: Right.

TOOBIN: This was a major national event. What else do you want your attorney general to do? I mean does this not strike you as important enough for his attention? It struck me as plenty important enough. The chief law enforcement officer has to go to a place where there was a major civil disturbance. That's why we have attorney generals.

CABRERA: Final question. I mean, can we have a fair trial given the amount of, you know -- the media attention this case has already received, and the fact that the government has already come out and said we're going to get to the bottom of this, and it's possible your family was wronged?

CEVALLOS: Well, if you want to talk about local government, local government is certainly designed to and capable of handling this prosecution whether they move it to another venue or keep it local. What exactly the federal government's role here has yet to be defined. I will tell you this, federal law is so broadly drafted that their potential interest in this case can be whatever the heck they want it to be.

TOOBIN: You know, those of us in the news media, we always think, people are following things so closely. There's no way you can get a jury that didn't pay close attention. Most people out there in the world, they don't pay that close attention to the news. You will not have a problem getting a jury in this case. Perhaps it will be moved out of the St. Louis area. Perhaps it will be no trial at all. No one's been charged with anything. But if there is a case, I think you'll find a perfectly fair jury.

CABRERA: And we're told it might be mid-October, the earliest that we'll know whether or not an indictment is coming. Danny Cevallos, Jeffrey Toobin, thank you both for your legal expertise.

And just ahead, an actor pours bullets over his head. Not ice. This is a different kind of challenge. And he's getting some heat for this. I'll speak with Orlando Jones about the message behind this video.

Plus, it is the biggest earthquake northern California has felt in 25 years. And it has many Americans asking, is a more catastrophic one looming? When are we going to see the big one? We'll have that answer to the question, next.

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