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At This Hour

Obama Approval Doesn't Budge; Secret Security Scandal; Ferguson on Edge

Aired September 29, 2014 - 11:30   ET

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


MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Adriana, I'll start with you. Why no rally affect? Why do you think we're not seeing that?

ADRIANA COHEN, BOSTON HERALD COLUMNIST: Well, first off, the president had yet to declare we're at war with ISIS. He gives a very nuanced response and he did that in the 60 Minutes interview, yet again. What he needs to do is declare, say to the American people, we are at war, and the give the war a name. As you know, Michaela, past presidents when they're at the war, they give the war a name, they call it Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm. This president has yet to acknowledge that we are at war. So that's the first starting point for him

PEREIRA: Well Lydia, well, Linda, rather, the White House can read these poll numbers as well as anyone else can. Do you think they're concerned that has approval rating remains so low?

LYNDA TRAN, CNN DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I guarantee you the president is not focused on that number. He's focused on other numbers related to the air strikes that have happened this past week, the 60 nations helping with this, the five nations in the Middle East, the 22 targets that have been hit. The four oil refineries, including the one that was producing $3 million a day to is. I'm sure that's what he's focused on.

PEREIRA: You know, so far the president is not saying this is war, further he hasn't named this military operation against is. What are your thoughts on that?

COHEN: First of all, he should tell people the obvious. We know we're at war. ISIS is at war with us. They've beheaded Americans. They're committing mass atrocities. We are at war and all these air strikes are proof of that. We also have 1,600 advisors there is who are receiving combat pay. So he should call it what it is but he has lost the confidence of the American people based on six years of failed policies with his foreign policy and gross misstatements. For example, he called ISIS a J.V. team earlier this year. We know they're not a J.V. team. They are the biggest national security threat to our country since 9/11, OK? So now he's also calling -- he's saying the Islamic State isn't Islamic. Of course it's Islamic. So we need the president to be up front with the American people and tell it to us as it is. He also needs to strengthen homeland security because with this war we need to do two things, we need to attack ISIS in the Middle East where they're found but we need to protect them from attacking us at home so he should be securing the border, cracking down on rogue student visas, asylum seekers who are bogus asylum speakers. He needs to strengthen security in our U.S. ports across the country. He needs to batten down the hatches here as well as implementing air strikes.

PEREIRA: Lynda, you don't need me to point out the day on the calendar is getting awfully close, midterm elections looming. There's obviously concern for some Democrats by the president's low poll numbers.

TRAN: So I think the president's made clear he's going to be out on the trail where he's going to be helpful but if I could address what Adriana said a second ago. The president said, "We're going to lead on this but this is not our battle to fight alone," and I think that's an important distinction to make. Also having 1,600 advisors on the ground is different than having 150,000 ground troops, what we had when we were in the midst of the Iraq war. So there's a tremendous difference between what you're seeing happening right now and what was happening when we were in the midst of war.

PEREIRA: Adriana, last question to you.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: I'll flip question to you because it would seem that Republicans could capitalize on the president's low approval rating in November as well.

COHEN: Yes, absolutely. First of all, we don't know how this war is going to unfold. ISIS is doubling in size every few months. First they had 15,000 troops over the summer. Now they're at 33,000. In eight months or a year they could be 100,000 people strong, terrorist strong. So arming 5,000 Syrian rebels against 100,000 in a year from now won't cut it. So I think we're going to end up needing to deploy U.S. ground troops and I think it's great he's building a coalition with other foreign nations but what he needs to being down is building a coalition here at home with Congress. Congress should be pulled out of recess and they should be given the opportunity to weigh in on this war.

PEREIRA: You certainly both have a lot of points to make about the situation that we're seeing right now with war or not war. Hopefully, we'll have more discussions coming up.

Ladies, thanks so much for joining me.

Ahead @THISHOUR, an old incident creating new headaches for the Secret Service. A report says the agency bungled its response to a shooting outside the White House. This info is coming just days after an armed man was able to get through the door of the White House. The question many are wondering, is it time for a security overhaul?

Also, no letup in the outrage over the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. We'll turn to Ferguson, Missouri, a city that remains on edge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD KESSLER, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: The agents I talk to say it's a miracle there hasn't been an assassination so far and it seems obvious to all of us the Secret Service needs a major overhaul. Yesterday you had the deputy national security advisor again defending the Secret Service and the result is going to be an assassination. I'm afraid that's the only way we're going to have a change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: A jarring claim from investigative reporter, Ronald Kessler, who wrote a book about the Secret Service. I spoke to him about the incident in 2011 when several bullets hit the windows outside the upstairs residence of the White House while the president's daughter and his mother-in-law were inside. The gunman later admitted that he wanted to shoot the president. Now, the twist that is making news today is this: Reportedly it took the agents four days to realize what had happened and it was actually a housekeeper who discovered the damage and the evidence.

Dave Wilkinson is a former Secret Service agent, and head of the Atlanta Police Foundation, and joins me this morning.

Good to have you, Dave. Thanks so much.

DAVID WILKINSON, DIRECTOR, ATLANTA POLICE FOUNDATION & FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Good morning, Michaela.

PEREIRA: I think first of all I have to address that strong language from Ronald Kessler. He is saying that he thinks that the problems within the Secret Service are enough that they're not going to get recognized ultimately there's an assassination attempt. You have to get your reaction to that.

WILKINSON: Obviously, Michaela, I would very much take issue with that comment. The Secret Service is the most professional, well- organized organization in this country and these law enforcement professionals, both officers and agents, are mission driven down to their core and they leave no stone unturned to protect the first family. There's been a series of incidents here that we'll talk about in a minute but the reality is you will not find an organization that is more dedicated and more mission driven than the agents of the Secret Service to protect the first family.

PEREIRA: This is why we wanted you on, Dave, to talk about this, you're an insider. You know service that the men and women of the Secret Service provide and perform and the dedication it requires but, again, as you mentioned, there have been a series of incidences and we've seen the picture of this intruder with a knife getting inside the White House a couple of weeks ago, so very fresh to us. We hear about the incident in 2011 that wasn't noticed for some four days. What do you think the issue is? Knowing the Secret Service the way you do, Dave, what do you think the issue is?

WILKINSON: First of all, the White House fence jumper, as you can imagine, there are a lot of folks that jump the fence at the White House. The Secret Service --

PEREIRA: Sure.

WILKINSON: it's an everyday protocol for the Secret Service. Like any incident that happens at the White House, Michaela, the Secret Service officers begin an immediate lockdown of the White House, security measures go into place. The incident back in 2011, as you can imagine, that came from the outer perimeter, the Secret Service has a tremendous partnership working closely with the park police and the metro police basically to respond to those incidents. That specific incident, I know there's been criticism that the information was mishandled at the beginning but you can imagine any major law enforcement response in this country, any officer would tell you that the first response there's going to be misinformation and confusion. And that's exactly what happened. The officers began to respond basically and ultimately misinformation was sorted through basically and the suspect was eventually captured.

PEREIRA: We go back to that 2011 incident. I can imagine as parents because one of the president's daughters was in the home, his mother- in-law was in the White House at the time, in the residence of the White House. The first lady and the president were not there. They were reportedly livid about what happened. As parents, you would be when your loved ones are put in harm's way. But, you know, when I talked to Ron Kessler earlier today, he talked about a culture within the agency that needed to change, rewarding people who perpetuate myths about the agency, not promoting those who are critical. It takes pride inning down its job on the cheap. What to those accusations?

WILKINSON: I think they're all nonsense, Michaela and I think the Secret Service everyday -- I've been in the meetings, I spent 22 years in the Secret Service, I spent nine years at the White House and I'm certainly no apologist for the Secret Service, I'm just giving you the facts as you've asked me for. They're huddled up everyday to make sure they can do things better, be more efficient. They're attentive to detail and they leave no stone unturned to make sure the family is safe at all times. Clearly when the incident took place where the bullets hit the rear of the White House, of course, the Secret Service began immediately to focus on capturing the suspect the investigation of who fired the rounds and they missed the fact that a couple bullets hit the rear of the White House and were on the upper balcony but the biggest focus was protecting the president himself.

PEREIRA: I understand the Secret Service said some discrepancies before and there was a new director brought in, in 2013, there have been changes. Surveillance has been added, new technology. Are the men and women that are tasked with protecting the president and the first lady and their family, do they have enough tools and the right resources in your estimation?

WILKINSON: Well, you'd have to ask the Secret Service specifically that question right now but it certainly is my understanding from the time I was there, yes, they had the tools. I don't think there was a better equipped, better resourced organization in the country and for the most part no stone was left unturned when it came to protecting the president of the United States. So, for example, as a security advance person, if you provide significant evidence that a certain security measure needed to be put in place to make the president's venue safer, obviously that was always granted so it's been my experience that was not the case. It's been my experience that that culture has not changed. It's my experience that the leadership of the Secret Service is just as important and doing just as good a job as they ever have.

PEREIRA: Dave, I have to wrap it up here. In a word, yes or no, do you feel confident the president's family are safe in the White House?

WILKINSON: Absolutely, 100 percent.

PEREIRA: Dave Wilkinson, former Secret Service agent, thank you for joining me.

WILKINSON: You're welcome.

PEREIRA: Ahead @THISHOUR, we'll turn to Ferguson. There are new protests happening there more than seven weeks after teenager Michael Brown was killed by police. It seems like there's no end in sight for the city that remains on edge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: A police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, has been shot in the arm and an off-duty cop came under fire while driving his personal car. Neither of those officers were seriously injured. Officials don't believe either of those incident this is weekend had anything to do with last month's police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. One thing is clear, though, Ferguson continues to be a city on the brink.

Our Stephanie Elam is actually there in Ferguson. She joins us live. Also with me, CNN commentator, L.Z. Granderson.

Good morning to the two of you.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Steph, I'll start with you. It's hard to believe it's been seven weeks since Michael Brown was killed. Give us an idea and a sense of what you're hearing from people there in Ferguson and what you're seeing.

ELAM: You know, right now it looks like Monday. Right now it looks very calm. You would not know that there is any sort of unrest happening at all and I was here Friday night. I stayed out here until 11:00 at night and I felt there were protesters but more media than protestors. Then Saturday the tone changed. Each night presents its new ability for a new storyline. That's what we've been seeing. It's very tense here and it plays out often. I won't say every night, but plays out often, Michaela. PEREIRA: L.Z., I think many in Ferguson are really concerned that the

worst is yet to come, especially if the grand jury doesn't indict Officer Wilson. What are your -- what's your sense of that?

GRANDERSON: Well, we're getting a couple reports now that are very disturbing and, again, adds reasons why people in this area are so upset and do not trust the police officers. Number one, we're now seeing reports that the Department of Justice had to contact the department of -- the police department in Ferguson about officers not wearing their badges and name plates and name badges once again, making it difficult to identify the officers who are engaged with the public.

Number two, media outlets are reporting that they are charging exorbitant amount of money for documents to be released. If you try to be transparent, where are you charging "The Associated Press" for public documents and, two, why aren't your police officers wearing badges?

PEREIRA: There's another aspect that I want to bring up, L.Z., in a second. But first, I want to ask you about this video that Ferguson police chief, Tom Jackson, released. In it, he apologized to Brown's family and the protesters. Yet, that didn't seem to satisfy anybody.

GRANDERSON: Well --

ELAM: Yeah. It came across to a lot of people here that it came around late. Right? That this did not come -- it didn't seem genuine because of the timing of it. I spoke to some people close to the chief who said he wanted to do this earlier but he couldn't because of the investigation. This is something that was truly weighing on him. We saw him come out here on Thursday night in a situation that did not go well because we all saw the video of how that played out. A series of moves, not the best layout or game plan to make you look like you're trying but the police chief is trying.

PEREIRA: The trying and success of those efforts seem to be a far cry from one another. It seems that there's just been a series of missteps after missteps.

L.Z., what I wanted to ask you about were these bracelets that some of the Ferguson police officers and saying, "I am Darren Wilson." They were wearing this on duty until the Justice Department said, don't wear these bracelets in support of Wilson on the job. It's these missteps and also it seems tone deaf, L.Z.

GRANDERSON: You know, this is blatant hypocrisy, if you will. The black people in this community are being asked to be patient and yet the police officers are saying they are supporting Darren Wilson despite the fact that all of the facts are not known. I ask you, how do you expect people to respond when you're telling them to be patient while the police officers that have already chosen sides and they are being charged with protecting and serving you? I mean, it's just one more -- it's not just a P.R. misstep, it gives you an insight into the police department and why residents have been so frustrated for all of these decades. PEREIRA: And it gives you a sense of why that city remains on the

brink. It's as though there is some tension, a lot of tension boiling just under the surface. Occasionally, popping its head up like it did over the weekend where Stephanie was.

Stephanie, L.Z., thank you. We'll keep this conversation going.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Ahead @THISHOUR, there's one more opening in the world's most eligible bachelor department. Yes, ladies, sorry ladies, George Clooney has retired from the single life in a star-studded spectacular way. And we'll dig into it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: @THISHOUR, Mr. and Mrs. Clooney are reportedly in London as a wedded couple. They had a dreamy, star-studded ceremony in Venice. And today, they followed up with a civil ceremony at city hall, just like us.

Our Nischelle Turner is here.

You look at this --

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the Clooneys went to city hall.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: This is amazing considering the fact that he is no longer a bachelor.

TURNER: He's been saying it, pounding the table, I'm never getting married.

PEREIRA: How did it happen?

TURNER: She happened. She happened. Mrs. Amal Alamuddin is beautiful, accomplished. She's brilliant and she swept George Clooney off of his feet. I think she's swept the world off of their feet. She knew all eyes would be on her this weekend.

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

TURNER: She delivered. Did not miss a step. She came out and said, I'm Mrs. Clooney. See me, love me, forget about it.

PEREIRA: What's really interesting to me is you pointed out a fact there. He has been very actively -- not even shy with the paparazzi. How were they able to accomplish this?

TURNER: The paparazzi, even if they do respect anyone, they respect George Clooney and his space, and they were out and waving and on the -- in the speedboats. George Clooney looked so dapper. They are the first couple of Hollywood now. Sorry, Brad and Angelina. By the way, I'm dressed in all black today because for all of the cocktail waitresses in Vegas and the former WWE wrestlers who thought they had a chance, I'm mourning for them today.

PEREIRA: Here's the big question, though.

TURNER: Yes.

PEREIRA: What does this do for the Hollywood most eligible bachelor? Do we have any contenders?

TURNER: I have a few. Lenny Kravitz, he's up there for me.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Do you know how she rattled those names off.

TURNER: Lenny Kravitz recently said he's ready to date.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: This probably goes down as one of the biggest celebrity weddings. No?

TURNER: There were lots of celebrities there. Matt Damon was there, Cindy Crawford and her husband, Randy Gerber, one of Clooney's best friends, were there. So George has celebrity friends. Parents there. Her friends were there, his sister. We saw all of them celebrating. They footed some cash, $900,000 for everyone to stay at the hotel.

PEREIRA: Nischelle Turner --

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: Could have been me.

PEREIRA: Could have been you.

TURNER: He gives hope for all of us.

PEREIRA: All of us. It can happen.

That wraps it up for us @THISHOUR. Thanks so much for joining me.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.