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Democratic Four-Term Governor Faces Mounting Calls To Resign; More of Brian Williams' Reporting Placed Under Microscope; Obama Continues To Advocate "Nontraditional Methods" To Push Domestic Agenda; Another Winter Storm Set To Hit Boston

Aired February 13, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You know, families should learn classified information.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Streamline, getting the information. I was talking to Austin Tice's parents just the other day and they were saying the same thing. That it is like they're having to talk to Syria directly. They are informing with CIA what the state department is telling them. And this is now at the FBI.

So, again, the president asked for this review of the hostage policy. It seems like it's going in the right direction when you talk for these particular families but how incredibly frustrating for these parent.

David Rohde, thank you so much.

I want to move along --

MALE ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BALDWIN: -- because we're getting breaking news here out of the state of Oregon. We just receive words that the governor there has resigned. The Democratic four-term governor has faced mounting calls to resign over the scandal concerning his fiancee's consulting and policy work. And this comes at the end of a bizarre week. According to the "Oregonian," the governor has decided to resign by Tuesday, changed his mind by Wednesday.

For more, let's go to CNN's Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne, what exactly happened?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been an extraordinary week if you look at the turn of events here because the governor had been talking to several state officials throughout the week. On one hand, giving them indications that he would, in fact, step down.

He called his secretary of state from a conference meeting that was happening in Washington earlier in the week to go back to Oregon. She would, of course, be the person to fill in for him if he resigned. And she was called. She said that he changed his mind. That in fact, he talked about transition but decided that he wasn't going to. And he emerged saying that -- such that from his driveway just a day before. Well, now we've got this official statement from the governor saying

in fact, that he has decided that he will step aside. I want to read just the pertinent parts for you, Brooke, here.

He says, it's not his nature to walk away from a job that I have undertaken. It's to stand and fight for the cause. He said, for this reason I apologize to all those people who gave up their faith, time, energy, and resources to elect me to a fourth term last year.

He goes on to say, he says, it's deeply troubling to me to realize that we have come to a place in the history of this great state of ours where a person can be charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced by the media with no due process and no independent verification of the allegations involved. But even more troubling and on a personal level as someone who has given 35 years of public service to Oregon, that so many of my former allies in common cause are willing to simply accept this judgment at face value.

Brooke, he's talking about all the Democrats who have essentially been calling for his resignation over the last couple of weeks, but certainly a growing strong chorus has done so the last couple of days.

A little bit of the back story here. This is regarding several things, but the main point here is the investigation around the first lady, Sylvia Hayes and her role. She has allegedly received some benefits, some funds from a group that she -- an environmental group that she actually started. At the same time, she's acted as an adviser to the governor regarding environmental policy. Clearly if that is the case, that is a conflict of interest.

We've also learned -- well, we've learned recently as statement came out in October, they have been under fire and she has acknowledged some other bizarre things from her past. She has acknowledged and apologized back in 1997 that she participated in a sham marriage to allow somebody to get a green card and she also has acknowledged that she was with an ex-boyfriend who had purchased some property that they had intended to use to grow marijuana. So these are things that have come out in light of this investigation.

And the final point I should make here, Brooke, is that this is going to be effective, his resignation, 10:00 a.m. This is going to be on a Wednesday in February. So he's got a couple of days to get this together, and the secretary of state, she will move into that position once this is officially acknowledged here. But, again, the governor issuing his resignation just moments ago.

BALDWIN: Four-term governor in the state of Oregon out.

Suzanne Malveaux, thank you. We'll look for more reporting on this throughout the day.

And of course, much more on these allegations as we mentioning involving the first lady, involving his fiancee. Suzanne, thank you.

Coming up next, should other Brian Williams' story under the microscope here. And this one, he said, he was embedded with SEAL team 6 in Iraq. We'll talk with a Navy SEAL about if, in fact, the SEALs do that, period. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Nowhere near done. That is what some at NBC are saying with light to the investigation in to NBC "nightly News" anchor Brian Williams. The man who is once the most watch anchor in America. He is having more and more of his stories placed under a microscope.

First, as we've been reporting, it was the Iraq war coverage, then hurricane Katrina, now it's been questions about his being at the Berlin wall in the '80s and meeting with the Pope back in the '70s. But perhaps most under scrutiny now is what he says happened after 2000. And this story involved his relationship with the team famed for killing Osama bin Laden.

To step this up, here is John Berman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): May 2011, an MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter is engulfed in flames after Navy SEAL team 6 successfully killed Osama bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This special opt team set fire to this stilt aircraft after it crashed in this courtyard, an attempt to destroy the helicopters' critical technology. In an interview with David Letterman in January of 2013, Brian Williams had this to say about a piece of the burned out wreckage.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC ANCHOR, NIGHTLY NEWS: About six weeks after the bin Laden raid I got a white envelope. And in it is a thank-you note unsigned and attached to it was a piece of fuselage. The fuselage from the blown up Blackhawk in that courtyard. And I don't know how many pieces survived.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, THE LATE NIGHT SHOW: Wow. Sent to you by one of the --

WILLIAMS: Yes. One of my friends.

BERMAN: Those friends, according to Williams, members of the highly secretive SEAL team 6. But that relationship is being questioned by members of the operations community and could be one of the things an internal NBC investigation is focused on. In 2011, Williams described a long relationship with SEAL team 6 when talking about the bin Laden raid in another Letterman appearance.

WILLIAMS: We have some idea which of our special operations teams carried this out, and it happens to be a team I flew into Baghdad with on the condition that I would never speak of what I saw on the aircraft, the aircraft we were on, what they were carrying, and who they were after. But all of it was shared with me. It's common when covering the war because to reveal that would be to endanger Americans.

BERMAN: Then in 2012 during yet another Letterman appearance that perhaps raises the most questions, Williams goes further. WILLIAMS: I have a throat cutter on my desk at 30 Rock, which is

helpful in staff meetings. It just sits there. It was sent to me by a member of SEAL team --

LETTERMAN: Did you say throat cutter?

WILLIAMS: Yes. SEAL team 6. I flew in on a blackout mission and I was told not to make any eye contact with them or initiate any conversation. It was like horses in the gate right before a mission. This guy had a wristband with his human target that he was after when we landed. It was one of the members of the deck of cards, one of the leadership cards. They're amped. This is the best we have. And until he reached into my box of wheat thins, my last remaining American food, it could have been a wheat thin commercial because this hand, the size of a canned ham goes in. I lost half of my net supply of wheat thins, but then I chatted him up and admired a knife as part of his utility belt. Darned if that knife didn't show up at my office a couple of weeks later.

BERMAN: Whether Williams will be asked back to that office will now be decided by NBC.

John Berman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: You just heard a story there talking to Letterman about the Navy SEAL and that experience and that war souvenir, apparently, he was given. So are his claims realistic? Let's turn to man who wrote "Inside SEAL Team Six, my life and mission to the America's elite warrior." He is Don Mann. He was in the SEAL team for eight years.

Don, great to have you on.

DON MANN, AUTHOR, INSIDE SEAL TEAM SIX: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You know, when you first heard these reports about how he claims to have floated into Baghdad with SEAL team Six and a piece of the chopper from the bin Laden raid, as a SEAL, what was your gut reaction to that?

MANN: My gut reaction after hearing the reports and reading the reports, I actually felt it was coming from somebody who's probably a bit delusional. I couldn't see any fact at all how any of that could have happened.

BALDWIN: Let's piece some of it apart. Do SEAL teams, Don, allow for journalists to embed with them?

MANN: You know, you do see SEAL team training, but, it's basic underwater demolition SEAL training. There are plenty of specials on the training. The basic training just to become a SEAL, but you'll never have a reporter embedded with SEAL team six or any of the tier 1 units. We know an accounted terrorist mission. It just has never happen and it never will happen. And basically the reason is we protect the identity of those guys on the team, the tactics, the techniques and the procedures they use, the equipment they are using. All of that has to stay just strictly to the teams. We -- the last person that information would go to would be a reporter. Just the story doesn't make any sense at all.

BALDWIN: Even someone who's the most watched anchor in America, even Brian Williams.

MANN: Even Brian Williams, any reporter. If somebody got in touch with a piece of equipment or found the identities of people or heard about the training that the SEALs use and what they're going to use on their mission, if that left that helicopter, if that left and went out to the public, you're basically endangering the guys' lives, their families' lives and of military people will be following behind these guys. Those are all classified secrets that stay within the team.

BALDWIN: What about part of the anecdote, he talks about, being given this war souvenir. Just from you personally, on any of your missions, Don, did you ever take away any war souvenirs?

MANN: OK. Yes, OK, you can take away little pieces of -- people do. Guys do take little souvenirs here and there, but not from a stealth helicopter, a black hawk helicopter when it's just been detonated. There's been a fear might (ph) grenade thrown in the helicopter to destroy it. We didn't want anyone to have any of the information, the technology, and the last thing would be for a SEAL operator to take a piece of that and give it to a journalist. It just wouldn't happen.

BALDWIN: Don Mann. All right, from the mouth of a Navy SEAL. I appreciate you very much and your perspective today. Thank you.

Coming up next, behind the scenes with President Obama posting with a selfie stick saying "Yolo." The clip has quickly gone viral, but is his message getting across? We'll talk to John Berman coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: President Barack Obama again capitalizing on now call it nontraditional methods to push his domestic agenda, this time in the form of a BuzzFeed video to boost health care status before open enrollment ends Sunday. Sorry I'm laughing. It's funny. The clip called things everybody does but doesn't talk about. It features music, the president and a selfie stick. Here's part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The deadline for signing up for health insurance is February --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not like any other Wednesday.

OBAMA: That's not right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wednesday.

OBAMA: Feb -- man. February 15th. February 15th. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The video reminiscent of Obama's "between two ferns" interview with Zach Galifianakis, also time to boost healthcare enrollment. And when you look at the views here, it seems pretty successful.

CNN's John Berman is good enough to join me on this Friday afternoon.

And you know, second only to you, my friend, I have to say the president has pretty impressive comedic timing.

BERMAN: Yes, Brooke, thank you for that. You are better comedian comic than I do.

Look, he did a very good job. He does a good job when he gives these speeches at the White House correspondents dinner and he tells the jokes he tells. George Bush did the same thing and had the same kind of comedic coming (ph). These guys communicate a lot. And I think over time they develop a sense of how to do it well and how to do it persuasively.

And look, that's what's going on here. I mean, Don't make any, you know, mistake about it here. They are going after something here which is to get people to sign up for healthcare.gov. So he's very entertaining and at the same time, getting like 15 million views as of 8:00 last night. I have no idea what it is now. It is got to be through the roof.

BALDWIN: Crazy. Just like your twitter followers, I'm sure Berman.

BERMAN: Yes.

BALDWIN: So what's the deal? Because, you know, we look at the recent interviews or the president is conducting, you have BuzzFeed, you have those You Tube stars that they allowed, you know, to interview the president, VOX. One camp would say where's the traditional media, where are the real hard sit-down interviews, this is just silly. What say you?

BERMAN: Well, look, you know, people who have a legitimate gripe are like the "Washington Post." I saw a note from the "Washington Post" they haven't had a sit-down with the president in over 1100 days. And that's a long time for, you know, the leading newspaper in the nation's capital, and they should get an audience with the president. So when they see something like this, you can understand why they are unhappy.

But at the same time, the White House respond by saying look, we do everything. He's done a lot of interviews with CNN. He has done a lot of interviews with other major media outlets. He does news conferences. So if he does that and also does this offbeat stuff, you know, there aren't many losers here. There are some but there aren't many.

BALDWIN: All right, John Berman pulling, what, triple duty today. We will be watching for you.

BERMAN: "AC 360" 8:00 tonight Eastern.

BALDWIN: There you go. There is the flag. John Berman, must-see TV tonight, 8:00. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

BERMAN: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now blizzard warnings, I'm afraid to report here, issued for you in the Boston area again. We will talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: For those of you who played Powerball recently, listen to this. 26-years-old, four children and one very lucky lottery ticket. Have to share the story of Maria Holmes. She is one of the three people lucky enough to match the numbers for this week's record- breaking half a billion dollar Powerball jackpot. Her share, a cool $188 million.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA HOLMES, POWERBALL WINNER: I don't know if I want to cry or what. I'm just grateful for this moment. It will hit me soon. First I'm going to pay my tithe because I wouldn't have it but for God. I'm thankful that I can bless my kids with something that I didn't have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Holmes was previously employed both at McDonald's and Walmart before having to quit to take care of her kids, one of whom was cerebral palsy. In addition to give in to her church, she says she plans to buy a house and set up college funds for her kids. How great is that?

Two of my friends in the city of Boston, sorry. Another winter storm is heading your way. And this latest storm is bringing more snow to the northeast. It is bringing bitter cold and nasty winds. Ivan Cabrera, let me bring you in. Our CNN meteorologist, boy, oh, boy, it is like just when you think they have had enough, boom.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, again. Again, apologies also from the CNN weather center to our good friends in Boston. This is incredible, Brooke. We are talking about our fifth storm now and this one again will have the potential to be quite crippling, not just because of the heavy snow but because we are talking about winds. So we have blizzard warnings have now just been posted for the entire eastern Massachusetts, that includes as well Maine and all the way down into the cape. Then winter storm warnings further to the north and west.

It extends from Boston all the way out to 495, which is about 30 miles. That's a pretty significant distance now. I think with this next storm we have the potential to get into the top five here. I was in Boston for the top one, '95-96, 107 inches. We may get there but we are at 79.5 and with this next storm we could get anywhere from 10 to as much as 14 inches. And that could put us into the top five.

So here's the timing of it here. Saturday night, by the way, it's valentine's day. I recommend a valentine's brunch, not a dinner, because by the time you get out, you will be looking at this. Winds 40, 50 miles an hour and heavy snow blowing sideways. You don't want to be stuck in that.

So again, the accumulations will be anywhere from 10 to 14 inches. Where are they going to put it? We don't know. I mean, they are melting it with no zillows out there. So that's a good thing, I guess. But here we go again. And again, power outages a potential here, Brooke, because of the winds gusting to hurricane force along the cape. That's going to be serious stuff. And then of course, it's in the single digits as far as the temperatures so if you lose power, it is going to be very chilly. So hopefully, your valentine's can help you with that.

BALDWIN: Valentine's brunch, Valentine's brunch. All right, I know we will have crews there so we can covering it for everyone.

Ivan Cabrera, thank you so, so much.

And thank you for being with me. Have a wonderful weekend. But don't move. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.