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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield
Brian Williams Suspended From NBC For 6 Months Without Pay; Fiance Of Aaron Hernandez To Take The Stand In His Murder Trial; Bobbi Kristina Remains In A Coma
Aired February 11, 2015 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Brian Williams, a few years back, received an award named after the most trusted man in America, Walter Cronkite.
Williams told the audience that night that the TV News Business is so different from Cronkite's stay, that telling the truth is not always "top priority". Watch this from November 2009.
(VIDEO CLIP START)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, NIGHTLY NEWS ANCHOR: We have confused in many cases tonnage with knowledge. And while we aren't learning more, there is generically more out there. Facts matter less, throw experience in there too. We're all finding it's a heck of a lot easier to voice an opinion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than it is to go and report back home on what you find.
(VIDEO CLIP END)
BANFIELD: It's hard to look at that, hard to hear it now knowing what we know. Gabriel Sherman is here. He writes about media for "New York" magazine and also here with him, our own Brian Stelter, Senior Media Correspondent, who has been writing for a long time about this and the positive side of the business.
So, let's just talk about the news that it is a six-month suspension, it's being called. Is it really that -- Gabe, is it really a suspension or is this sort of easing into something bigger or easing out of something huge?
GABRIEL SHERMAN, NEW YORK MAGAZINE WRITER: Well listen, NBC News was on fire. And this was the quickest sticks that they could come up with to try to put this raging inferno to rest and hopefully buy some time to figure out, no one believes that this is the last word on the story.
And NBC executives, from now until the suspension over is going to going to be debating what the best path forward is for NBC News.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: And they are going to be rather open about the fact that he may not come back, and everybody sort of admits he may not come back. But is there an avenue for him to come back? Is there a way he might be able to pull this off, that's sort of the question now.
SHERMAN: Yeah. They're going to be pouring over everything. They're going to be testing ratings data on any of the substitutes. I mean, this is essentially a weighing game.
BANFIELD: You know, look, when you talk about these kinds of falls (inaudible), all the time and how you are makes the fall greater and the injuries greater.
SHERMAN: Yeah.
BANFIELD: But then there's also the notion that after all of the (inaudible), America likes to repair the damage. I'm just going to show you two of the front pages from the two tabloids of New York Magazine "Bye-Bye Bri, and Brian shutdown."
This is what you call overkill. I mean, this is what you call kicking people when they're down. Is that the turning point, Brian, when you start to see the aggressive blood in the water and the sharks going for it that changes perhaps an opinion like that?
STELTER: I'm with you that America loves an apology to her (ph) and America loves second chance. And we've seen that in lots and lots of fields. But how we've seen it as much in journalism, I'm not sure I can name as many great examples of journalists who come back from something like this. I mean their (inaudible) is trying right now--
SHERMAN: Trying quietly. I mean, she's not as visible as she was prior to--
BANFIELD: But if the lines are all being blurred between entertainment and journalism doesn't that make the job easier?
SHERMAN: Well, I would say no. I think this is a classic example where Brian Williams got outside of his lane. You know, I reported in my piece that he made an aggressive push to host the Tonight Show.
I mean, he wanted to become a comedian. And if that's ...
BANFIELD: Do we really believe that?
SHERMAN: A hundred percent.
BANFIELD: How many sources you have ...
SHERMAN: I have multiple sources and ...
BANFIELD: I know Brian Williams. I work with Brian Williams. Full disclosure, I was friendly with Brian Williams. He was a mentor of mine for several years early in my NBC days.
SHERMAN: Yes, NBC News is not denying that he made push with the Tonight Show. And that shows that he got outside of his lane. He wanted to move into comedy, into entertainment, which is fine. But then that has different rules ...
BANFIELD: I got to be honest I have a hard time believing that. He's always to me, and many people I worked with and still to this day are very friendly with NBC. He was always the (inaudible) to be remembered as Cronkite not anyone to be ...
SHERMAN: But as one long-time colleague told me that he changed over the last few years, and he started hanging out with Jimmy Fallon, with these comedians, with Jon Stewart.
I think he started to think of himself differently, and that I think led to these problems.
BANFIELD: I want to read this one -- this stood out to me like a throbbing some. And it was the note from NBC News president, Deborah Turness, the statement in making this announcement.
STELTER: Yeah.
BANFIELD: In it she said, in addition we have concerns about comments that occurred outside NBC News while Brian was talking about his experience in the field, such a nebulous statement that does not pertaining to this war story, it pertains potentially, my guess, is to anything else. Does that say anything to you, Brian?
STELTER: It definitely suggests that NBC has far more that they have to scrutinize and have to (inaudible). We're going to throw on a story shortly about some other examples that are not nearly as clear as this Iraq war mission that was clearly exaggerated. But there are examples, for example from the Berlin Wall. Brian Williams arrived on the scene at the Berlin Wall was falling but not as early as Tom Brokaw was there.
And at different times, he's told the story in different ways. Now, again, that's not as crystal clear as Iraq.
SHERMAN: Yeah, of course.
STELTER: But the people are now scouring through lots of examples from Brian Williams.
BANFIELD: It could -- you have to agree Gabe, it could also be just, look, we're in the middle of this thing. We don't like to close all doors before we know where it leads.
SHERMAN: Of course. They want to leave (inaudible) options on the table.
BANFIELD: Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: Look, is another job for -- I don't even want to say if he doesn't come back. With his six months out, that's all it is that we know right now. He's a good guy. He has a lot of supporters (inaudible). SHERMAN: Actually ...
(CROSSTALK)
SHERMAN: Where are his supporters on the record? I mean, the silence from NBC News, has been deafening. I mean, I called all around the network the last few days. I have not gotten one person to go on the record backing him by name. And I think that is very telling.
STELTER: Even this morning, on the Today Show (inaudible), he said he is a friend and a colleague but they also said NBC News has to protect itself, and they wished to Lester Holt good luck (inaudible).
BANFIELD: Yeah. I wish him well. He's done a lot of good things for a lot of people (inaudible) just one moment. But I wish him luck. And you know what? Quit it, (inaudible) for god's sake. Just report the news don't do this stupid graphics, it's not fair. Gabe, thank you.
SHERMAN: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Thank you Brian.
STELTER: Thank you.
BANFIELD: The loss on juror on top of seven feet of snow, we might not think those things are connected but you bet they are, really slowing things down in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial but it is not taking away from something intense drama and look at the files (ph) next big moment, ahead.
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BANFIELD: It is day 7 of the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. Seven, and only 15 witnesses have taken the stand so far, just a couple of dozen exhibits has seen the light of day. So with this rate Hernandez could be in the courtroom through Easter. I have seen an entire murder trial start to finish in seven days.
But today, a female juror was dismissed for personal reasons. So, that leaves 16, 16 who heard from law enforcement witnesses for only two hours this morning before court abruptly reset until Friday. But there is still one big moment everyone is waiting for, the moment where this woman, his fiance, is going to take the stand.
We know she's going to take the stand because she's been granted immunity which means she has no choice. She must no matter what she wants to say or doesn't want to say.
Susan Candiotti looks how this could be a game changer for the entire case against him.
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SHAYANNA JENKINS, AARON HERNANDEZ FIANCE: Good morning. SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CCN CORRESPONDENT: Every time she comes to court, Shayanna Jenkins sits behind her fiance on trial for murder. In earlier hearings and even now, Aaron Hernandez mouths "I love you to her." How will her love show now that she's been granted immunity, forcing her to testify as a prosecution witness against him?
PAUL CALLAN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: She's a fiance. Normally, a fiance is not going to testify adversely against her true love. So, the very fact that she gets on the witness stand and provides evidence that may prove Hernandez to be a murderer is highly unusual.
CANDIOTTI: Will her testimony hurt or help him? The former Patriot tight end is accused of driving Odin Lloyd to an industrial park and orchestrating his execution in June 2013.
Lloyd was shot six times in the back and front. Jenkins is suspected of ditching the 45 caliber murder weapon used to kill Lloyd who was dating her sister. The day after his death, authorities say Hernandez sends his fiance a coded message.
"Going back of the screen and movie room when you get home and there is a box just in case you were looking for it. Remember how you ruined the big TV? I was just thinking about that, laugh out loud, wink, wink, love you. Talk to you later, K?"
Prosecutors say Jenkins is seen on this video just before putting the gun inside the black trash bag, borrowing her sister's car and getting rid of the bag but not remembering where. She's pleaded not guilty to lying before a grand jury. If she sticks to that story...
CALLAN: The very fact she tells the story about, oh, I picked up a garbage bag, oh, by the way, I don't remember where I dumped it and the bag prosecutors say is the bag that had the murder weapon in it, I think she's going to look part of the murder conspiracy and it's going to hurt the Hernandez case.
CANDIOTTI: The defense is demanding to know what prosecutors might have promised her in return for immunity. But for now, there's no way of knowing what she'll say when she takes the stand.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Fall River, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Well, that is going to be a very dramatic day. But today is a tragic day times two for the family of Whitney Houston. Her daughter, Bobbi Kristina remains in a coma, on the anniversary of her mother's untimely death. Yes, it is today.
The latest from the hospital and the police what they're doing to try to find out what happened just before this young woman ended up in her coma.
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BANFIELD: It's hard to believe that three years ago, today, Whitney Houston was found dead in a bathtub in the Los Angeles area hotel. And today, her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown is in Atlanta Hospital, in a medically induced coma after she was found unresponsive in her townhouse also in a bathtub.
The similarities are chilling. But her extended family telling Entertainment Tonight that Bobbi Kristina is actually improving.
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DAVID BEGNAUD, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: How is Bobbi Kristina doing?
SHAYNE BROWN, BOBBY BROWN'S NEPHEW: She's progressing. She's getting better. We just ask for people to continue to pray. The family is in good spirits. Everybody is talking about the bickering and fighting that's going on between the family. At this time right now, we're just -- a lot of emotions that's going on.
TINA BROWN, BOBBY BROWN'S NEPHEW: A lot.
SHAYNE BROWN: Emotion -- there's a lot that's going on with the family and we love each other. You know what I'm saying?
TINA BROWN: Yes.
SHAYNE BROWN: We love each other, like you see me and my mother. That situation is blown out of proportion. You see me here right now. I love her as she loves me, this is my mother. At the end of the day family goes to things but it just be just the family that we come from, it just happens to be publicized to the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Well, police are saying this is a criminal investigation, and questions had been swirling around the nature of Nick Gordon's relationship with Bobbi Kristina for years now. He is the one that she has described as her husband. Even though it's been proven that she's not married, he was one of the two people who also reportedly found her in the tub. Here's Randi Kaye with what we know about Nick Gordon.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was just 12 when he joined Whitney Houston's family.
NICK GORDON: My name is Nick Gordon. My life changed dramatically when I met Kristina Whitney. I was going to high school, my mom had kicked me out of the house.
KAYE: Whitney Houston took Nick Gordon in at the urging of her only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN, WHITNEY HOUSTON'S DAUGHTER: We were best friends a long, long, long ago.
KAYE: Whitney never adopted Nick Gordon but did allow him to live with her famous family, growing up along side Bobbi Kristina. When the singer died in 2012, media attention began to focus on Bobbi Kristina and Nick Gordon's relationship. He downplayed the idea they were dating to ABC News saying we're just close, just going through her mom's passing and grieving together.
He also confirmed on Twitter that he and Bobbi Kristina are not blood relatives writing "For the stupid people out there, she gave birth to one child and she trusted me with everything."
Whitney Houston's brother told ABC News years ago that Nick Gordon was like a son to her. But not everyone in the family is feeling the love. In fact Bobbi Kristina's aunt got a restraining order against him last year. She claims he posted photos of guns and made threats against her.
A Georgia court granted the protective order for one year forbidding any contact. Finding she was in reasonable fear for her safety.
Gordon has had other trouble too, like a DY arrest last August. Despite his issues Bobbi Kristina said yes when he proposed. She was spotted wearing an engagement ring.
In July 2013, Bobbi Kristina wrote on Facebook "Yes, we, me, Nick are engaged. I'm tired of hearing people say, 'Ew, you're engaged to your brother.' My mom never adopted him."
About six months later came the announcement on Twitter that the couple had secretly been married. A lawyer for the family says they are not husband and wife. But still, Bobbi Kristina Twitted in January last year hashtag "Happily married, so in love."
A followup to gushing tweets like this one "Nick Gordon, you are moon, my sun, my love of my life. I'll be by your side forever, you are my world."
Meanwhile the man she calls the love of her life is not at her bedside. Police are taking a closer look at his actions the day Bobbi Kristina was found. And a family friend says "He's not welcome at the hospital." Randi Kaye, CNN New York.
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BANFIELD: Big news, awful news really. The "Daily Show" without Jon Stewart, doesn't make sense like a Captain without Tenille or Mike without Ike. My attempt at what is impossible. Filling his shoes, this is happening though Stewart says he's done with the comedy central anchor desks. So, what or who comes next?
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RANDY GOLD, FATHER: Which paper do you want?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The Gold's may look like a typical family, but look closer. RANDY GOLD: Now you look at me. Look at this paper.
GUPTA: Six-year-old Eden can't walk, talk, or do most anything a girl her age should be doing. She has a progressive neurological disorder called Mucolipidosis Type IV or ML4. It's a rare genetic disorder more common among Ashkenazi Jews, people of Eastern and Central European Jewish decent.
CAROLINE GOLD, MOTHER: A game, which game?
GUPTA: Eden's development stopped at 18 months. Doctors say she'll be blind by age 12 and will probably not live beyond early adulthood.
CAROLINE GOLD: Every dream that we had for our daughter was just ended with one phone call.
GUPTA: The Gold's thought they were thoroughly screened for genetic diseases before they got married. Their first child was born healthy.
CAROLINE GOLD: My doctor tested me for a total of eight diseases and Randy's doctor tested him for a total of two diseases. Neither one of our doctors tested us for ML4.
GUPTA: The couple didn't want other families to suffer the same fate. They started an online education and screening program for genetic diseases, common among Ashkenazi Jews. At-home screening kits are mailed out and a genetic counselor delivers the results over the phone.
RANDY GOLD: JScreen's mission is to make sure that parents know that they should be screened for genetic diseases before they get pregnant. We can provide them information on having healthy children of their own.
GUPTA: Just like the Gold's, who added another daughter to their family.
RANDY GOLD: Eden is here for a purpose. She saves lives every day.
Oh, my goodness.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK, get ready to feel old. Look at Jon Stewart on his first day hosting The Daily Show. Try not to get too distracted by the hair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this (inaudible)? How does it work? You don't know ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're can have -- it's my first day, I don't know. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That could be mine. That could be mine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm on The Daily Show more than you have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that true? Honestly, I've never been -- I feel this is my (inaudible). I have no words something like this and I have a rash like you wouldn't believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: The 60 years of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and it's ending tragically. Stewart says he's leaving the show later this year. Future plans unknown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST "THE DAILY SHOW": I don't have any specific plans, got a lot of ideas, I got a lot of things in my head. I'm going to have dinner on a school night with my family who I have heard, from multiple sources, are lovely people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: There's no word, yet, on exactly when Jon Stewart's actually going to tape his final Daily show. But his contract with Comedy Central ends in September. Bon voyage, fella.
Thanks for watching, everybody. "WOLF" starts right now.
