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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Brave Seven-Year-Old Girl Sole Survivor Of Kentucky Plane Crash; Debris From AirAsia Flight 8501 Slowly Being Recovered; Dow Down Almost 300 Points; Explosive Criminal Motion Brought Against Jeffrey Epstein, Britain's Prince Andrew And Famed Defense Attorney Alan Dershowitz; Many Police Officers Turn Their Backs On NYC Mayor During Wenjian Liu's Funeral Sunday

Aired January 05, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY WILKINS, HELPED 7-YEAR-OLD PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: She just said that -- she said, my mom and dad are dead. We just had -- we had a plane crash and the plane was upside down. Like I say, it's kind of unbelievable, you know, that the little girl would come out and - you have to bear in mind how rough the terrain is through that woods. A lot of brier bushes and her little legs were just cut up from the bottom of her shorts to the tip of her toe. And it was about 35, 36 degrees and barefooted. And we had - it wasn't a rain, it was just drizzling, you know? So she was a little bit wet, but not soaking wet, but a little bit wet. But I imagine them little feet were pretty dagg gone cold.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Just seven years old.

WILKINS: Yes, she -

BERMAN: Talk to me about the area around your house. You said, you know, there was a creek bed, briars, a difficult walk for anybody, let alone a seven-year-old girl at night.

WILKINS: Well, yes, sir. We had an - we had an ice storm here in 2008. And this woods is - (INAUDIBLE) last night that it was about 1,400 acres total. But now here I'm probably two blocks from a minor highway to know that the good Lord was with her. If she'd have walked the other direction, you probably wouldn't have found her for a week. So she'd be walking into just more - more woods. But the ice storm knocked a lot of these trees down -- I'd say probably 20 to 30 percent of those trees are knocked down.

So wherever she walks, she had to detour. And it's probably has a camouflaged, maybe a quarter of a mile from where that plane crashed. But you can't walked it in an straight line, I'd say she walked three quarter of a mile because she had creek beds she'll go through, rubber bushes divert her go around, even fallen trees to walk around.

As I've said many times, I don't like to walk in that woods in the daylight, most less dark with no light. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean, so it's either good luck or something else that brought her to your house. It's an amazing thing. You've had a chance to speak to her grandfather, I hear. How was she doing? And, you know, if you can get a message to Sailor, you know, what do you want to tell Sailor today?

WILKINS: Just wish her good luck, you know, and I'm -- I know she's having an extraordinary hard time. And probably in her mind, she didn't understand everything that's going on right this moment but her grandfather was a very, very pleasant person. And thankfully -- that actually, you know, I didn't do anything that you wouldn't do or anybody you know probably won't do, if a small child come through your door in that kind of a condition.

I've got two little Dachshund dogs and they helped her a lot and from -- her grand dad told me that she had a Dachshund. But even dogs love everybody, you know. And they took her just immediately. And I have -- and I think that helped her calm her down quite a bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That plane have been flying back from Florida to Illinois, it was carrying five people. Also onboard where Sailor's parents and her nine-year old sister Piper and her 14-year old cousin and they all died in that crash.

Moving on to another big story that we're following this hour, piece by piece, debris from AirAsia Flight 8501 slowly being recovered, but the job is so far from finished. A CNN crew spent 15 hours aboard a search vessel, you'll see what we saw in a moment.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are within in the area where some bodies and debris have been found. But you can see how challenging it is, the fact that a soon as you see something in the distance it disappears behind a wave and then it's very difficult to try and spot it again.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The search teams in the Java Sea do not have nearly as much to show for nine days of the grueling effort as they would prefer, because to date only 37 of the 162 passengers and crew who're onboard AirAsia Flight 8501, have actually been recovered. Couple pieces of debris have also been recovered. Yet, each discovery represents a victory over horrendous and even life threatening conditions.

My CNN colleague Paula Hancocks spent 15 hours on a journey from West Coast of Borneo -- which is on the right side of your screen -- to sector number four of the search zone and grueling might just be understatement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HANCOCKS: The deserted beaches of West Borneo Indonesia belie the horrors out at sea. More than 100 nautical miles to the search zone, calm waters and sunshine soon disappear.

We've been on the sea now for about four hours, we've got another three or four hours to go. And as you can see, the weather has started to close in the closer we get to this crash location. But we're being told that even though this waves are fairly high and you can see it's a lot choppier (ph) than it was, that this is still considered fairly good weather. This is better than it has been for some days.

The crew looks for debris and body, one of them spot something. He's unsure what exactly.

The captain calls it in, a larger ship in the area will investigate. This search and rescue boat has a specific mission, to deliver a ping or locator to help with vital search for the so-called black boxes. But the captain is nervous about the weather.

I feel a heavy moral burden, he says. I have a responsibility to keep those on board safe, but it so important to help find bodies and debris. Larger ships can cope with these conditions, he says, but this is not a large ship.

Sector four of the search zone, the contact boat is in site, time to hand over the equipment, easier said than done.

One of the men now who's in charge of that equipment was going to jump across, but quite frankly he doesn't want to, now he said it's simply too dangerous.

Next job, transferring the boat from which to operate the equipment, a task the crew struggles with until dark. We're going to want to admit defeat at least for today. An exhausted crew returns to land with only half the mission accomplished. Paula Hancocks, CNN in the Java Sea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And our thanks to Paula and her crew.

I want to get you some breaking news. Take a look at the board behind me, almost 300 points down for the Dow. What exactly is going on? Happy 2015, I got this girl, Alison Kosik, coming up right after the break. You got some explaining to do, young lady.

Back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A little New Year surprise yesterday filling up my tank. I don't know about you but there are some seriously cheap gas out there, folks. Almost half of the gas stations in the United States right now are showing signs below $2 per gallon. It could have something to do with big drops in oil prices. And that, by the way, might sound good to you but it's impacting Wall Street. So, don't look at your 401k right now because you will not be happy. The stocks are down sharply in reaction to all of this. Almost 300 points down.

CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik, all of a sudden everyone is screaming your name across this huge newsroom saying "Answers please." What's going on?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So first of all, we're seeing stocks take a hit partially because of what we're seeing happening with oil, oil falling at 1 point today below $50 a barrel. We haven't seen that happen since April of 2009. But look, oil prices have lost half of their value since July. It has fallen from $100 to even below $50 in today's trade.

Now, for us, for you and me, this is great. We drive, we want to fill up our tanks cheaply. We heat our homes, we want to do that cheaply as well. But for Wall Street, this is unsettling. It's unsettling to see one area of the economy in free fall, and that's pretty much what oil prices are at right now, they're in free fall. And the problem is no one really knows where the bottom is. We're seeing some estimates anywhere between -- it could go as low as $20 a barrel, could -- oil could go as low as $40 a barrel.

In the meantime, we're enjoying these lower gas prices. As you said, you look at the country, gas is below $2 at almost 40 percent of the gas stations across the country.

BANFIELD: OK. So, I can hear the cacophony of people out there right now saying "That's great, Alison, but my state is still expensive and I'm not getting that fabulous $2 gas." Are they going to in the future?

KOSIK: They probably won't. They probably won't -- see, like here in New York, we won't see gas prices probably fall below $2 like we're seeing happen, let's say, in Missouri. Part of the reason is because taxes, another is the actual transport of the product to those gas stations. That's part of it as well.

BANFIELD: So, will they then rejoice at selling short if they're really savvy in the market or does this look like it's going to recover?

KOSIK: That's the -- that's really the question that everybody is asking. And if we know we the answer, if I know the answer, I'd be a very rich woman right now.

BANFIELD: Right.

KOSIK: But really no one knows where the bottom is. I'm telling you, some people are seeing oil prices fall to $20 a barrel.

BANFIELD: Right.

KOSIK: And part of the reason --

BANFIELD: That hasn't happened since the '89, $19 a barrel, 1989. KOSIK: And you're not going to probably see the Saudi's cut production any time soon. There's sort of sitting and back and saying "You know what, let's see where the chips fall. Let's see how well the production of oil takes a hit here in the U.S."

BANFIELD: OK. Lest everybody hate the Saudis for this and OPEC for, you know, not turning out this (inaudible). America is throwing a bunch of production out there, too.

KOSIK: Right. And that's really a big reason we're seeing oil prices take such of a hit. We're seeing a glug (ph) of oil not just here in the U.S., in Russia, in Iraq, and we're seeing the Saudis not cut production.

BANFIELD: No.

KOSIK: They're just sitting twirling this out.

BANFIELD: This is the first year where I haven't kicked myself and not locking in my oil price for my heating at the beginning of the year. I did not lock it in, so I'm good. Oh, finally, my laziness has paid off. There you go.

KOSIK: Congratulations.

BANFIELD: Thank you, Alison. Happy new year. Nice to see you.

KOSIK: You, too.

BANFIELD: All right, so, when you hear a story about a prince, a lot of people envision it's a fairy tale. And this next one is so far from a fairy tale. It's about that man, Prince Andrew, and believe it or not, sexual abuse allegations against this prince. And it is a nightmare for the palace and it is intriguing for so many others. This story is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There's some pretty shocking claims that are contained in a civil motion that was filed last week in a U.S. District Court in Southern Florida. Buckle up on this one.

Here's how the New York Post some did up on its cover, yikes. This is a cover from a while ago, but basically in the court papers, a woman named Virginia Roberts claims that she was forced by self-made billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, on the right, to have sex with several men including Britain's Prince Andrew, on the left. And she said this happened when she was a teenager and there in is the problem.

CNN does not normally name alleged victims of sexual abuse but in this case, Ms. Roberts opted to go public, giving an interview to a British tabloid.

Our Max Foster reports on the claim which Buckingham Palace has strongly denied.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Buckingham Palace on damage control, a rapid response to a law suit alleging Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl several times between 1999 and 2002.

The Royal Family issuing a rare second statement, refuting the claims even naming alleged victim saying, "It's empathetically denied that His Royal Highness, the Duke of York, had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. The allegations made are false and without any foundation."

Roberts referred to as Jane Doe 3 in court papers filed last week, alleges that she was kept as a sex slave for three years by the prince's former friend billionaire businessman and registered sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

During this time, Roberts claim she was forced to have sexual relations with the Prince when she was a minor. According to the court filing, Epstein told Roberts to give the Prince whatever he demanded and required.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is going to have to prove that this went on with Prince Andrew, so what we have is going to be very damaging, very damaging evidence, very damaging discussion and the Palace are frantically trying to find a way of limiting this.

FOSTER: The Prince came under harsh criticism for his friendship with Epstein back in 2011, eventually leading to his resignation from the position as an ambassador for British business.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was (inaudible) decision, very bad judgment to be friends with Mr. Epstein in the first place.

FOSTER: According to the court documents, Roberts says Epstein routinely lent her to powerful figures for sex, including well-known criminal defense attorney Alan Dershowitz.

Dershowitz said in his statement, "The entire story is completely made up and the claims are all about money." He is launching an effort to disbar the lawyers who filed the case.

In a statement reacting to the denials from Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and Epstein, Roberts insist that she'll pursue all available recourse saying these types of aggressive attacks are exactly the reason why sexual abuse victims typically remain silent and that she's not going to be bullied back into silence.

Max Foster, CNN.

BANFIELD: And as Max Foster mentioned in that report Alan Dershowitz was also named in these court filings. This is what the documents are alleging, "Epstein required Jane Doe number 3 to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on numerous occasions while she was a minor, not only in Florida but also on private planes, in New York, New Mexico, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to being a participant in the abuse of Jane Doe number 3 the filing continues and other minors. Dershowitz was an eye witness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and by several of Epstein's co-conspirers." Again, those allegations in court papers.

For his part Mr. Dershowitz appeared on CNN's New Day and vehemently denied those accusations.

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ALAN DERSHOWITZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She says I'm trying -- I'm trying to silence her. It's the exact opposite. Repeat the statement so that I can sue you, but the statements where filed in a privileged legal document. The document didn't even asked for a hearing, it didn't say we can prove it just through this think bomb.

It's the legal equivalent of writing graffiti on a bathroom wall and then running away, but I will take action. I'm filing today a sworn affidavit denying categorically.

I'm seeking to intervene in the case. I am challenging her to file rape charges against me. I waive any statute limitations, any immunity because if she files a false rape charge against me, she goes to jail. The end result of this case should be she should go to jail, the lawyer should be disbarred and everybody should understand that I am completely and totally innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Want to move on to another big story we've been following it may have been a silent gesture but the significant speaks volumes. This was certainly a set of uniformed blue backs turning their backs on New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio. Find out why and whether this is ever going to get fixed. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The second of two New York police officers ambushed and murdered as they sat in their patrol car was laid to rest on Sunday. Thousands of officers from, again, all over the country attending the funeral for Officer Wenjian Liu.

And despite being asked by the Police Commissioner not to do it, many officers did it anyway. They turned their backs on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio as he spoke at the funeral service.

Joining me now to talk about the turmoil in New York between the police and the mayor is the Police Chief of Camden County New Jersey, Scott Thomson.

Chief thanks so much for coming in. I want to talk about your community in a moment, but I want to get your reaction as I'm sure you watched this moment live. The silent protest but it is loud and a lot of people are wondering if it's ever going to get fixed.

SCOTT THOMSON, CHIEF, CAMDEN COUNTY, N.J. POLICE: I think it is going to get -- get better, and I don't know how much longer it can go on like this. I wish the officers hadn't turned their backs. I understand their feeling and I understand the situation that the City finds itself in now. But we not need to get beyond that and be (ph) policing and start moving towards a better tomorrow.

BANFIELD: So what will do that? What will get anybody beyond this because this chasm certainly at a second funeral when their leader asked them not to. It just doesn't seem to be closing at all.

THOMSON: Well, I think there's -- there's going to have to be much of some -- with the successes that we've seen in Camden with bridging the gaps with our community is dialogue. The dialogue is going to have to come from the Mayor's office to the rank and file.

Look, police officers have dedicated their lives to making the city safer and across the country. They don't want it to be the way this is now.

So, I think in the heart of hearts on both the administration side and the police department side, they both want the same thing. It's just the matter of getting there.

BANFIELD: Some people have said the mayor has to apologize out and he has to apologize for some of the behavior the police find so offensive.

Others have said, "Look, I think the police need to apologize too for doing this at funerals," maybe at the time when it's least appropriate to make this kind of political statement. Do both sides need to offer an (inaudible)?

THOMSON: I think both sides need to sit down and start talking.

BANFIELD: That's not working.

THOMSON: Well, it's -- I believe there's a meeting tomorrow between the mayor and the...

BANFIELD: And there was a meeting right before this?

THOMSON: Well, it's not one -- this isn't a quick fix, right? There's going to have to be a constant dialogue in this. And they're going to have find a common ground in this. But apologies and the like, I don't know how much that fits you further down the road.

BANFIELD: Chief, can I ask you -- look, it was 2011 and 2012 that Camden, your community, was considered the nation's most dangerous city. It was number one in the nation for poverty, crime, single parents, households, and I think you also mentioned dropout rates in -- for high school?

THOMSON: That's correct.

BANFIELD: What happened? How did everything turn around? Because those stats went away. THOMSON: Well -- So, in -- on May 1st, 2013, we created a new police department. The City of Camden has been plagued over the five decades with the social inequities that have just made it to be to a point where statistically it was the worst 9 square miles in the country. But it all starts with public safety.

And we created the police department wherein the culture from day one is -- the officers are going to be guardians that build community before they are warriors to fight crime. And by having the constant dialogue with the residents in the city and finding out the things that matter most to them.

You know, we did untraditional tactics such as -- an officer walk up and down the street knocking on doors introducing themselves to people.

BANFIELD: So it wasn't like a huge crackdown that can exacerbate the tensions between police and the community?

THOMSON: That's exactly correct. So, we did not militarized neighborhoods which just only further polarizes the police and community rather what we did was -- we leveraged the greatest course multiplier there is which is not technology or equipment. It's the people themselves.

Once they -- Once we started to communicate with them, ups in crisis, right, 911 calls cannot be the only time that police and the community is interacting.

BANFIELD: Or meeting.

THOMSON: Exactly. So, once we started to interact with them, on their front steps, in their living rooms, at the ball fields, at the playgrounds, and there start to be a level of trust in dialogue, they start to leave their house. And, you know, what you find?

BANFIELD: Have you had an invitation to see Mr. Blasio?

THOMSON: No, I haven't.

BANFIELD: Well, let's put it out there. Maybe you should be having a meeting with this city to see how we can maybe adapt some of your tactics in this city because we're needing something, that's for sure. Thank you so much for coming and congratulations on the success within your community.

THOMSON: Thank you for having me.

BANFIELD: And we appreciate having you. Thank you.

Not only do I want to thank the Camden County Police Chief but I also I want to give you a reminder that CNN is going to be bring you at the 3:00 p.m. hour, the news conference with New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York's Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. So, make sure you stay tuned because that will come at you live.

In the meantime, thanks so much for watching us. Appreciate to having you around this hour. Stay tuned for my colleague. WOLF starts now.