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Federal Charges Unlikely for Ex-Cop Darren Wilson; Mysterious Death of Argentine Prosecutor in Iran Cover-up; Mother Who Lost Baby Supports Vaccines.

Aired January 22, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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

DON WEST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So, I don't want to suggest that anything is likely to happen other than what's been suggested and that the evidence supports no federal criminal charges against Darren Wilson. But the George Zimmerman investigation has been going on well over two years. In fact, the media widely reported no charges would be filed back in October. Then in November, I had contact with the federal prosecutor assigned to the case that said, oh, no, the investigation is still ongoing.

So I don't take any comfort in the idea that there has been somewhat anonymous disclosure that there's no case.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so --

(CROSSTALK)

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Brooke, just a quick point.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Joey.

JACKSON: Just a quick point. What ends up happening, although it does not appear likely there will be charges leveled individually against Darren Wilson, we have to keep in mind there's additional investigation the federal government is doing called the Pattern and Practice Investigation. They're evaluating the patterns and practices of the police department as a whole to determine whether or not there was an excessive force used disproportionately against a minority community or other communities.

In addition to that, they're looking at the stop and frisk rate, what's going on there. There hasn't been indication they're not moving forward on that issue. As it relates to Darren Wilson, there's information leaked as it relates to him, doesn't look like charges that are forthcoming.

BALDWIN: Joey Jackson and Don West, thank you both.

JACKSON: Pleasure, Brooke.

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: Have a good afternoon.

BALDWIN: You, too. Coming up next, this new twist in the mysterious death of the

prosecutor accusing Iran of a terror cover up. This key figure in the case is asserting this prosecutor did not commit suicide after all. More on that.

Plus, the measles outbreak at Disneyland shining a spotlight on parents that choose not to vaccinate their children. I will speak to one mom that lost her baby and is now incredibly outspoken on this debate now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Today, another twist in the case of intrigue out of Argentina. The president, Cristina Fernandez, who is now saying what all these protestors have believed since this prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, was found dead Sunday, the answer, his death was not a suicide. The day before his body was discovered, Nisman indicated he knew too well the danger he was in because of the investigation he was leading. He reportedly told a journalist not once but twice, quote, "I could end up dead from this."

What exactly was he looking into? The 1994 bombing at a Jewish center that killed 85 people. He was about to link the president to a year's-long cover up of the case.

Let's fill in the gaps with Fernando Del Rincon, anchor at CNN Espanol.

Fernando, what made the president change her mind about the case? Why does she think this was not a suicide?

FERNANDO DEL RINCON, ANCHOR, CNN ESPANOL: Hi, Brooke. Thanks for having me.

There's no specific reason by now to explain why she changed her mind about the alleged suicide. Short question will be only she knows. She changed her mind about the case because of what the head of intelligence said regarding two people, mentioned in the investigation as spies. The head of investigation, by the way, denied this. That's what president Fernandez says in the news statement, the investigation is beginning to chance. Even though President Fernandez ruled on her Facebook page first reaction it could be suicide, she never assures or denies it was.

Today, in a new post, she seems certain it is not a suicide. Let's read the quote. This is what she said to me. It says, "The spies that were not spies, the questions that become fact, the suicide of which I am convinced was not a suicide. The accusations made by Nisman not only collapsed but constitute a true political and legal scandal."

This is what she said today, Brooke. There's no specific answer to that question at least by now. BALDWIN: Do we have any idea, Fernando, what it was that this

prosecutor knew about the President Kirshner (ph) and her possible involvement in covering this up?

DEL RINCON: Well, the investigation was based on telephone conversations between the Iranian agents and people close to the Argentina government. According to the conversations, the Fernandez administration was trying to separate Iran from involvement in the bombing. The key players for Nisman will be the president and foreign minister. Allegedly, the Argentinean government reached an agreement to increase the oil imports and grain exports for helping them out in this case. This theory of Nisman has been highly criticized by the government to the point they call it ridiculous.

By the way, new findings determine there was no gun powder on Nisman's hand. The medical examiner concluded there was no third party involved in Nisman's death. The lock smith called to open Nisman's apartment door found a third entrance open. He gave testimony yesterday. This is a new line of investigation. We'll have to wait -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: We will wait and will continue to figure out, answer those questions as far as what happened.

Fernando Del Rincon, thank you so, much from Miami.

Still ahead, just a short time from now, New England quarterback, Tom Brady, will hold a press conference addressing the controversy over the deflated footballs in last Sunday's game. Did the team cheat? We'll bring you Tom Brady, live.

But next, measles making a sudden comeback in the most unexpected place, Disneyland. We'll look at what is behind the outbreak, sparking new debate for need of vaccinations in your children. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Scientists thought the measles were eliminated in the United States. Boy, were they wrong. This outbreak is centered around Disneyland, of all places. Why are public health officials fighting a disease that was wiped out 15 years ago? One reason, parents who refuse to vaccinate children. Many are frightened by medical risks. Even science has proven skeptics wrong. Others opposed for personal reasons.

Katie Van Tornhout lost her daughter, Callie, to whooping cough. She and her husband endured a series of miscarriages before having their baby girl. This heartache is driving them go out there, become advocates for immunization for children.

I'm happy to have Katie with us. She is from South Bend, Indiana. Also with us, CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

Welcome to both of you.

Katie, first to you.

KATIE VAN TORNHOUT, DAUGHTER DIED OF WHOOPING COUGH: Hi, Brooke. Thank you.

I'm sorry. I know this was 2010, but I'm sure you don't see a day without thinking about your little girl. Because it's so personal, if I could get part of your story, if you can take me back to what you call the worst day of your life.

TORNHOUT: Yeah, she was our miracle baby. She came after five miscarriages and years of trying. She was born on Christmas Eve. She was feisty, perfect little beautiful baby girl. She did spend time in the NICU because she was early. She thrived. She was happy, little perfect baby. She came home, gained weight, ate, giggled, loved playing with her little brother on the floor -- big brother actually. She got a little cough on a Sunday afternoon. I was the first-time mom. I took her to the doctor Monday. They said it would take its course, be a cough and go away. We went back to the doctor on Wednesday because she kind of got more lethargic and wouldn't eat as much. At that point, she stopped breathing in my arms in the doctor's office. They took us to the E.R. From that moment on, we didn't know what was going on. There was a rush, people throwing tubes on her, taking blood, all sorts of things. Friday, they came in and ran testing, spinal tab for meningitis and swab for pertusis. She passed away early morning, January 30, 2010. We didn't know it was pertusis until the following Monday.

BALDWIN: All these medical terms and tubes, and here you were. How did doctors explain to you what had happened?

TORNHOUT: They pulled us a side in the hospital. Our whole hospital was there. They pulled me and Craig aside and told us her insides failed due to what they assume was pertusis. We could have the results in 24 hours. I was baffled of why she was gone. I didn't sleep two days. We had no idea. It wasn't until the CDC called and said it was indeed whooping cough.

BALDWIN: OK. Elizabeth, let me hear your voice here. We're talking about this ignites this greater debate about vaccinations and children. I know a study linking it to autism was discredited in 2011. Why do some parents feel vaccination absolutely poses a risk to their children?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, Katie, I'm so sorry for what happened to your baby.

I think this is a lesson for everyone. If you choose not to vaccinate your child, you're making a choice not just for yourself but other people in the community. It's not just to a decision for yourself or your child. When I've spoken to parents who have chosen not to vaccinate, sometimes they say -- they give a variety of reasons. Sometimes they say, look, you can tell me that vaccinations do not cause autism, my child was fine, and got autism. They link it the cause of autism from vaccines, when really, what scientists tell us, it's not the cause. Some people get autism. Just because it happened after a vaccination, that's not a cause-and-effect relationship. The other thing that I hear a lot from parents who choose not to

vaccinate is, look, we think the CDC is in cahoots with the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry makes money off vaccines. We think CDC and industries are in cahoots with them and we don't believe them. There's a distrust issue here.

BALDWIN: OK, that's a couple of explanations you've heard from patents.

Katie, with you, I know Callie was too young to receive the whooping cough vaccine. Here you are as a national as an advocate for immunizations for kids. Do you believe kids that moms and dads are out there and they're putting other kids in jeopardy if they're not giving their kids shots?

VAN TORNHOUT: Absolutely. If you're kids' not vaccinated and they come into contact with my child who is too young for her vaccinations, it's going to infect my child. That's not fair to my child that they don't have a chance because somebody doesn't believe in the vaccine that could harm my child.

BALDWIN: Elizabeth, we found, in Los Angeles, for example, in a Los Angeles school, only 21 percent of preschoolers were vaccinated. Do you think this greater anti-vaccine push will lead to other potential cases of measles outbreaks and who knows what else down the road?

COHEN: Experts I talked to say absolutely. The way this works is measles is widespread in other countries, not the United States. It takes one person to come from, say, the Philippines with measles and they by chance end up near preschoolers. Preschoolers are going to get sick and going to get other people sick. Measles spreads like wildfire. All you have to do is be in the same room with someone who has measles to get it. If you're in a room when someone that had measles was in it an hour ago, you can still get it because it's hanging out in the air.

Absolutely. The more people who choose not to vaccinate, the more likely we'll see outbreaks of measles like Disneyland and, like we saw last year, and even bigger one in Ohio.

BALDWIN: That is incredible.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

And, Katie Van Tornhout, thank you. I really applaud you speaking up and out.

Thank you, both ladies.

Coming up next, breaking news out of the home base for an incredibly dangerous branch of al Qaeda. The president of Yemen resigning after this attempted government takeover. And the Pentagon is ready to evacuate.

Plus, new word just in. Thousands of ISIS fighters believed dead in coalition air strikes. But how did they get this information? We're a waiting a news conference from Patriot quarterback, Tom Brady,

expected to weigh in on alleged cheating in this week's game. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The popular CNN series, "Morgan Spurlock: Inside Man," returns for its third season tonight.

Hello, Robot. We're getting to you in a minute. Slow your roll.

(LAUGHTER)

Third season tonight, 9:00 eastern.

Morgan Spurlock is here with me.

You're back because we have a little friend here.

MORGAN SPURLOCK, CNN HOST, INSIDE MAN: I brought a robotic friend. I thought I had to come back with a robot.

BALDWIN: I love the prop. This is so Johnny five short circuit of you. We talked a couple of days ago. You talk on the show about how you're in Tokyo and eventually robots can, not replace humans in a negative way, but in helping. What is this guy?

SPURLOCK: This is a Mechanoid.

BALDWIN: Hello? Hello?

SPURLOCK: Hello?

(CROSSTALK)

SPURLOCK: We'll give a little wait.

What's awesome is this is a great robot for parents and kids to build together to get kits into robotics at a young age.

BALDWIN: You can build this?

SPURLOCK: Mitt will be on the market later this year. It's about $400. When I was a kid, they used to say you've got to get into computers. Today's kids need to get into robots.

BALDWIN: Does he have a name?

SPURLOCK: His name is Mechanoid.

BALDWIN: Mechanoid.

SPURLOCK: He has a handsome mustache. I like to call him Morgan Jr. He can talk, dance, tell jokes.

Say something for us, Mechanoid. He's thinking about it.

BALDWIN: He's thinking.

SPURLOCK: He's thinking, thinking. He doesn't want to talk. Doesn't want to talk to us.

BALDWIN: Mechanoid, come on.

SPURLOCK: He's a little shy.

BALDWIN: I mean --

SPURLOCK: Yeah. He's a little shy today. It's an incredible thing.

What I love about this -- my kid see this is and going to freak out. It's the same size as my son. To think something a young girl or boy could build from scratch and experience this. As you build it from scratch, he starts telling you what to do and how to finish the build.

BALDWIN: Are you serious?

SPURLOCK: Yeah. He talks to you about how to finish building him. It's remarkable.

There he is.

MECHANOID: I am an advanced robotic building platform. My purpose is to teach every man, woman, and child about how fun and simple robots can be.

BALDWIN: Awesome, Mechanoid. That's super cool. This is Legos on crack.

SPURLOCK: This is not like your mom and dad's erector set at all.

BALDWIN: What do you think about robotics is so wonderful for kids but also, in general, like your entire episode that will be watching tonight, it's about --

SPURLOCK: It's about the world at large. What you see on tonight's episode of "Inside Man," it basically shows not so much this but robotics, in general, will surround us in every part of our lives. We're going to interact with them, use them. They will part of our technology whether we like it or not.

(CROSSTALK)

SPURLOCK: They're going to be driving our cars. We need to embrace technology and be ready for it.

BALDWIN: All right Mechanoid.

Woo, there we go.

SPURLOCK: I love that mustache. Good look. (LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: We'll be watching tonight 9:00 eastern, of course, the new season, "Morgan Spurlock, Inside Man."

Thank you for joining us.

SPURLOCK: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you both. This is exciting. Now we roll along.

SPURLOCK: Good job, Mechanoid.

BALDWIN: Good job, Mechanoid.