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GOP Senators Making Concessions; Conservative Leaders Skip Out on CPAC; Timetable for Mosul Offensive Still Unclear; Eddie Ray Routh Found Guilty of Killing "American Sniper"; Arrest in Train Crash

Aired February 25, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the agency in charge of protecting us running out of time and money. Three days until funding dries up for the TSA, Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. But is Congress closer to a deal?

Plus, they waited two years to hear a guilty verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY LITTLEFIELD, CHAD LITTLEFIELD'S MOTHER: Now is the time that we want to honor and talk about our precious son, Chad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The emotional message from the family of Chad Littlefield, the other victim in the "American Sniper" trial.

And is a popular dog food to blame for thousands of sick or dead pets? Their owners think so. Now they're suing.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Any minute now the secretary of state will be back on the hill. Today the House Foreign Relations Committee is set to grill John Kerry on crisis in every corner of the world.

And there's another pressing issue on the hill. Homeland Security funding three days away from running out. Now leadership on both sides working to hammer out a deal.

And the leading Republican in the Senate is signaling he may have a solution. He may have that deal.

Let's check in with CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

Good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And I'm outside a meeting where House Republicans have been going over what they would do if the Senate does send them so-called clean bill funding the Department of Homeland Security. Every indication, though, is that they are just kind of keeping their powder dry because they're not going to make any decisions until the Senate does that.

Now sort of the context of this is that the whole concept of the non- clean bill, meaning funding the Department of Homeland Security but only doing so with a writer that cancels out the president's immigration executive order, that originated in the House. And there are a lot of Republicans, conservatives, who say they don't want to do anything different than that. And there's a lot of pressure on the House speaker who's going to be coming out momentarily to talk about this issue.

A lot of pressure on him not to give, not to cave. Because that's essentially what the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell did. He gave into Democratic demands to say, you know what, we're not going to even talk about immigration until we make sure that the Department of Homeland Security, which keeps the president and the waters of America and the borders and airports safe, until that is funded.

One other bit of information that we're hearing from Republican sources that apparently the House speaker said that he hasn't spoken to his Republican counterpart in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, in two weeks, which is kind of astonishing given the -- what's going on here and the intensity and the importance of this deadline. Now we're told that their staffs have spoken but considering that they are leaders of the same party who run Capitol Hill, it's kind of -- it's kind of amazing frankly.

COSTELLO: So if you were a betting woman --

(LAUGHTER)

What's your prediction?

BASH: Well, my prediction is that we are probably going to hear some form of this House speaker coming out here -- some form of him saying probably over and over again he's not going to go there until the Senate acts because the House has already acted. So there's such, again, pressure on him to not give in.

Conservatives are already very angry at the Senate Republican leader for doing just that. So he's probably not going to say very much. We're just going to have to see what happens in the Senate and kind of take it from there over the next couple of days. But it's very hard to see House Republicans following suit in a vote on a clean bill to fund the Homeland Security Department at least in the first go around -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So we're -- when John Boehner pops out of there, we'll go back to you live.

Dana Bash, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

BASH: Thank you. COSTELLO: While the GOP remains divided, conservatives are kicking

off the Conservative Political Action Conference or CPAC. Many consider the event a breeding ground for emerging leaders in the Republican Party. It's known for buzzy moments like this. That's Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell touting a rifle on stage last year. This year the senator and his gun reportedly staying home. And he's not alone. House Speaker John Boehner is out, too.

So let's talk about this with Stephen Dinan, he's the political editor for the "Washington Times." One of the sponsor of CPAC.

Welcome.

STEPHEN DINAN, POLITICAL EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Hello. Good to be with you.

COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. So what reception do you think Mitch McConnell would get if he did decide to attend CPAC?

DINAN: Well, given what your correspondent Dana was just talking about, he most probably would get a very cool reception. It's possible he would even get booed. So here's the context of this of course. You have -- it's a giant hotel ballroom with thousands of conservative activists there who want to hear red meat speeches and right now, you know, the conservatives, even Mitch McConnell, as caved on this fight that the Republicans had promised their conservative base for the last four months they would have this fight. So McConnell would get a very cool reception.

It's worth noting this is the first year he hasn't been in basically the last five years. He's been a regular main stay there. His office says, of course, part of the reason he's not going is because he has to be here on Capitol Hill dealing with this Homeland Security situation, which is absolutely true. There's some truth to that. But it's notable, it's not just McConnell. McConnell is not there. House Speaker John Boehner is not there.

None of the other top, top party leadership from congressional Republicans are there which really suggests to you just how deep this rift is between the activists and their leaders now that they're leaders are in control up here on Capitol Hill.

COSTELLO: Well, I want to read you something that was on red state's blog today. It calls Mitch McConnell a eunuch who squealed like a pig. So that kind of demonstrates that deep rift that still exists.

I wanted to talk to you a little about the language he used because, I mean, it's sexy to use language like that, it makes you appear tough. But it doesn't necessarily win you points, you know, in the wider population, among independents and less conservative Republicans.

So is that -- so is it time to stop with that kind of language?

DINAN: Well, so, look, you know, I don't know the exact blog you just read. But I assumed, you know, this is a conversation that conservatives are having among themselves and as you just pointed out, the language gets salty. The same thing is true on the left of course. These are -- those folks aren't -- they aren't necessarily trying to win over middle voters or independent voters.

They view their goal as trying to bring their party leaders and this is true for the right and left, to bring their party leaders to their own side of the argument. And for -- you know, for those conservative activists who had been promised this fight for the last four months, they really do think that McConnell has surrendered this fight. That he surrendered the leverage that they were planning on using, of the Homeland Security funding bill, on this immigration fight.

This has been building -- immigration is a major issue for Republicans. You know, your viewers have certainly followed this for years. It tears the party apart. And this is more evidence of that. There are -- you know, there are some folks who believe that it is the be all, end all issue and they should use nothing less than that.

COSTELLO: What about the notion that, you know, Republicans control both Houses of Congress and this was their chance to show that they can actually govern. And if there continues to be this deep rift among Republicans, is that possible?

DINAN: Well, I think it's safe to say on immigration Republicans have a very tough time governing. They will do other things. You know, they passed Keystone. We saw the veto of that yesterday. They will tax bills -- tax cut bills. They'll try and deal with education. They're going to try a lot of things.

But what you're seeing on immigration is a constant problem for those Republican leaders as they try to rally their right-wing base and keep their right-wing lawmakers who are an increasingly large part of their caucus and their conference on board, even as they try and grab, basically come to the middle and pass things through Congress. It's going to be really tough. That's for sure.

COSTELLO: All right. Stephen Dinan, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

DINAN: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: Now to the fight against ISIS. As coalition forces prepare for a springtime assault against the terror group, the Pentagon has started beefing up the weapon supply of Iraqi forces. According to U.S. military officials, the U.S. is sending $17 million worth of equipment.

So let's talk more about that with Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. This is the equipment that troops on the ground, the Iraqi units on the ground, are going to need for any major offensive.

Let's unpack it a little bit and look at what the U.S. is sending. They are sending 10,000 M-16 rifles for Iraqi troops on the ground and along with that, 10,000 so-called optical scopes. This is equipment that goes on the rifles that helps a soldier on the ground do precision targeting. Very key here. 23,000 ammunition magazines. Another 250 MRAP, these are mine-resistant vehicles that can operate in areas where ISIS might have laid IEDs, booby traps, or roadside bombs.

So all of these is key here. It's kind of aimed at this point to equipping those Iraqi units as they come out of training to go to this fight in Mosul. The expected upcoming offensive to liberate Iraq's second largest city from ISIS.

But I have to tell you, an alternative scenario is emerging. The Pentagon last week talked about April or May for that offensive in Mosul to begin if the Iraqis were ready. There's a lot of talk. A lot of back chatter talk that that might slip now and even some talk that Mosul might no longer be the first objective.

Some military officials are quietly suggesting maybe the Iraqi forces should first go to Anbar Province west of Baghdad, less densely populated. Might be easier for them to accomplish. The bottom line here is U.S. officials say they've got to ensure that whenever this all unfolds, the Iraqi forces are successful. If the Iraqis make the effort and they don't succeed against ISIS, as one official said to me, it will be very bad -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Barbara Starr reporting live from the Pentagon this morning. Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

STARR: Sure.

COSTELLO: We're also learning disturbing new details about a group of Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS. An activist with sources on the ground tells CNN about 150 Christians are being held hostage by the terror group. That number is higher than initial estimates. It's believed that ISIS militants went door to door raiding villages in northeast Syria abducting women, children and the elderly. Hundreds of Assyrian Christians have already been forced to run for their lives.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, jurors convict Eddie Ray Routh, finding him guilty in the "American Sniper" trial. We'll talk with one of Chris Kyle's SEAL team members about the verdict next.

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COSTELLO: Right now to Capitol Hill, speaker of the House, John Boehner, now addressing reporters. Let's listen.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: We have to stop the president's overreach on immigration and we're waiting for the Senate to do their job. Senate Democrats have stood in the way now for three weeks over a bill that should have been debated and passed so until the Senate does something, we're in a wait-and-see mode.

BASH: But what about -- obviously you know the way your caucus feels. Are you concerned about a rebellion if you would go that way?

BOEHNER: I'm waiting for the Senate to pass the bill.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). Why is that?

BOEHNER: I know our staff talk back and forth but listen, Senator McConnell has got a big job to do. So do I.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

BOEHNER: Our staffs have been talking back and forth. But at the end of the day, the Senate has to act. And I've made it pretty clear over the last couple of weeks, we're waiting for the Senate to act.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What do you think are the merits of this plan? What do you think about it?

BOEHNER: I'm waiting for the Senate to pass a bill. There's a lot -- I don't know what the Senate is capable of passing. And until I see what they're going to pass, no decision has been made on the House side.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is Congress going to avoid a shutdown of DHS?

BOEHNER: I'm waiting for the Senate to act. The House just passed a bill to fund the department. It's time for the Senate to do their job.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you ruling out a -- are you ruling out a clean bill?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please let us pass.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Speaker, do you think the Senate should act?

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: All right. We're going to step away. John Boehner left the building in fine fashion, right? He had tears in his eyes at the beginning of that. But I don't think he was crying over the DHS fight. I think he was perhaps crying over -- he was talking about education shortly before that.

We'll get to Dana Bash a little bit later to figure this all out. But as you heard, John Boehner is standing tough when it comes to DHS funding.

In other news this morning, we're hearing testimony from the "American Sniper" trial for the first time. The judge wouldn't allow the audio to be played until after the verdict. And that happened late last night. Jurors found Eddie Ray Routh guilty in the murders of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. Immediately after the judge sentenced Routh to life in prison without parole. Ed Lavandera takes a look at some of the moments from the trial we

could not show you until now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eddie Ray Routh has been an enigma since the world learned his name two years ago as the man who killed the legendary American sniper Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield but the world has never heard Routh himself until now.

EDDIE RAY ROUTH, CONVICTED OF KILLING CHRIS KYLE: The first time I met either one of them was yesterday.

LAVANDERA: This is Eddie Ray Routh confessing to the murders wearing clothes he wore to the Countryside Gun Range that day. Chad Littlefield's blood still staining his boots.

DANNY BRILEY, TEXAS RANGER: What happened out there today other than shooting sports?

ROUTH: I was reasonable and fair with them boys. I can't just keep eating my soul up about this, you know.

BRILEY: You're right.

ROUTH: You can't just keep letting people eat your soul up for free, you know. It's not what it's about, it's about having a soul that you have in you for yourself. And there are tons of people that are eating on my soul right now.

BRILEY: You saw your sister today. What did you tell her?

ROUTH: I told her I had to kill men today. It wasn't a want to or a need to. I had to, to get out of that situation I was in today.

LAVANDERA: And the jury heard from Chris Kyle's wife Taya.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who were you married to prior to February 2nd, 2013?

TAYA KYLE, CHRIS KYLE'S WIDOW: Chris Kyle. I'm sorry. I'm not nervous. I'm just emotional.

LAVANDERA: Emotional as she remembered the last time she saw her husband. Later she called Kyle and sensed something was wrong.

KYLE: Because normally going out there, especially a place like Rough Creek, it's beautiful. He feels really good about helping somebody. Usually he's making their day. And he knows it, which is what, you know, happened earlier. He thought that the guy sounded really excited to go and so he thought he was doing a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So he sounded a little irritated when you talked to him that afternoon?

KYLE: Yes. It was very short and it wasn't like short like hey, you're interrupting a good time. It was short like I wish I could say more but I'm not going to because there are people around.

LAVANDERA: And that was the last time they would ever speak. She texted him, are you OK? I'm getting worried. Chris Kyle never responded.

A few hours later, Eddie Ray Routh sitting in Chris Kyle's truck would be surrounded by police. Routh led police on a 10-minute car chase, careening into a police car. Before the truck rolls to a stop and a team of officers take him into custody and place him in the back of a police car.

It was Routh's mother who reached out to Chris Kyle. She worked at the same school the Navy SEAL's children attended.

JODI ROUTH, DEFENDANT'S MOTHER: Chris said he understood that because he also had post-traumatic stress. And he said he would love to do anything and everything in his power to help my son.

LAVANDERA: But Jodi Routh says she never fully explained to Kyle her worst fears about her son and his V.A. hospital visit just a week before the killings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you didn't think that would be useful information? Maybe information that might have saved Chris Kyle's life?

J. ROUTH: It didn't occur to me at the time.

LAVANDERA: And in the police interrogation tape, Routh is questioned by Texas Ranger Danny Briley.

ROUTH: I keep talking to Chris, you know. There's a few dozen Chris's in my world, and it's like every time I talk to another man named Chris or get sent to another man named Chris, it was like talking to the wolf, you know? To the ones in the sky are the ones that fly, you know what I mean. The pigs. You guys got plenty to eat out there. (INAUDIBLE) had enough of my soul today everybody seems to be eating off my soul. So to that I say (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you all. You're going to eat (INAUDIBLE), eat my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and die. You're not going to eat my soul.

BRILEY: (INAUDIBLE)

ROUTH: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). When pigs fly, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) eat shit and die.

BRILEY: Is there anything you want to say to the families?

ROUTH: Yes. I'm just sorry for what I've done.

LAVANDERA: Those are the erratic ramblings that still leave the most dire question unanswered -- why, why would a once decorated Marine end the lives of two good men?

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Stephenville, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Gives you the chills, right? I want to bring in Brandon Webb. He's a former Navy SEAL and CEO of Force 12 Media. His latest book "Among Heroes" is available now.

Thanks for being with me, Brandon. I appreciate it.

BRANDON WEBB, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Carol, thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Jury didn't take long to come to its conclusion. Does that surprise you?

WEBB: No. I mean, I -- you know, watching the tape, I think it's a clear case, you know, in Texas they have clarity around do you know right from wrong as opposed to the insanity defense, so I think the guy that I watched on the tape seemed like somebody that would know right from wrong and knew what he was doing that day.

COSTELLO: The jurors were interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America" and some of them said that they thought that Eddie Ray Routh was using PTSD as an excuse. You know, he'd go out and take drugs, he'll do something wrong, and then he'd drop the PTSD card.

Did you see it that way.

WEBB: Yes. And that's -- I read it and have read it that way all along. Understanding someone that's been in a combat environment and knowing that this guy claimed to have seen combat, but we now know that he never was in combat so I think the post traumatic stress thing is a crutch and this -- it was a guy that was suffering from some sort of mental disorder and the sad thing is the mom, his mother, didn't reveal any of that stuff and I know Chris.

And I know had he known the history of violence, the drug abuse, threatening to kill his own family, there's no way he'd take that guy to the range that day.

COSTELLO: Definitely not.

Also on NBC this morning, Chad Littlefield's mother appeared and she gave some emotional comments about her son and she kind of thinks he's the forgotten victim in all of this. So I'd like our viewers to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY LITTLEFIELD, CHAD'S MOTHER: Been focused on Chris Kyle and because Chad was not in the movie, because the attention was not focused on him, we think it helped the case because then when they wanted to a change of venue, well, they had to remember that two men were murdered that night.

It was difficult for us because we had to remain quiet because we didn't want to jeopardize the case in any way. So now is the time that we want to honor and talk about our precious son, Chad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So talk about Chad Littlefield because he also served bravely.

WEBB: Yes -- no, I think -- and I would say to Judy, his mom, I didn't know Chad, her son. But I knew Chris and the man, and he was an amazing person. And if you judge a person by the company they keep, you know, that says a lot to me about who Chad was, and I think her son is definitely should be honored and remembered. So my heart goes out to him and I'm just glad that they can finally have some closure.

COSTELLO: I hope they can. I do. And just a last question about PTSD. This trial very much put that in the spotlight. What do you think people took away from the trial when it comes to PTSD?

WEBB: I think that people actually realizing that there's a difference between post-traumatic stress with combat and a serious mental disorder and it's actually I think highlighted the state of the V.A. in Texas which is they have some of the worst hospitals in the nation by the -- found out by the inspector general in 2004. So raising awareness about the V.A. and helping these veterans that are transitioning very important stuff.

COSTELLO: Brandon Webb, thanks for stopping by. Appreciate it.

WEBB: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, as a derailed train lay on its side but instead of running away from it, one man rushed toward it to help. We'll have his story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An Arizona man is under arrest today charged with felony hit-and-run after he abandoned his pickup truck on the railroad tracks at Oxnard, California. That truck was then hit by an oncoming train triggering a train derailment that left at least 30 people injured, four of them critically.

But as the NTSB investigates exactly what happened on the tracks yesterday, we're learning about one man who rushed to help the injured trapped inside that train.

Kyung Lah has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED MALONEY, WITNESS TO ACCIDENT: It was just a nonstop blast of his horn. It wasn't the normal I'm going through the intersection.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ted Maloney just happened to be the first car waiting at the crossing gate.

MALONEY: It was a huge kaboom. And I was just -- I don't believe this is happening. LAH: Maybe it was shock. Maybe instinct. Whatever it was, this

parts manager of a truck dealership simply reacted.

MALONEY: I asked three farm workers to come with me. And they ran with me and then they helped me climb into one of the cars.

LAH (on camera): When you climbed into that hole that you describe --

MALONEY: We were on the side. We were on the left -- we were on the left side. The car was on its left side.

LAH: People with broken bones and severe head wounds. More than half the passengers aboard the derailed commuter train injured, like one woman Maloney says was bleeding badly and going numb.

MALONEY: She wasn't crying. She was kind of crying but she was more in shock. She didn't know what was happening. She kept asking for her purse.

LAH: First responders began arriving but Maloney kept helping bringing another injured woman to the triage area.

MALONEY: I don't know why I did it. I have no idea. I've never done anything like this. I just did it. Someone had to do something. Paramedics weren't there.

LAH: Do you feel like a hero?

MALONEY: No. I'm nervous. You know, I'm not a hero. People need help -- that's what good people (inaudible)

LAH: Thrust into disaster by chance but for passengers that Maloney helped, it was anything but luck.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Oxnard, California

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: What a great guy.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, some Senate Republicans are scrambling to fund the Department of Homeland Security before Friday's deadline. What happens if the money runs out though? We'll talk about that next.

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