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Clinton Addresses E-Mail Controversy Today; Interview with University of Oklahoma President David Boren; Police Chief Hopes Madison Does Not Turn into Ferguson; Russian President Claims Crimea Takeover Secretly Planned

Aired March 10, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that's Sanjay and Miles. Both great guys.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on "MILES O'BRIEN: A LIFE LOST AND FOUND" tonight 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the SAE letters have come down and frat members have until midnight to move out but finding new housing might not be their biggest problem as the outrage grows over a racist video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BOREN, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESIDENT: I'm pursuing right now the legal rights of the university to act against individual students.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: They packed the streets and the capital and new rallies are planned today. What protesters want following the deadly police shooting of an unarmed teenager.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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

Let's get right to our breaking news. Facing mounting pressure to explain herself, Hillary Clinton will address her e-mail controversy today. That's according to an aide familiar with her plans who said the potential presidential candidate will talk to reporters after speaking at the United Nations just a few hours from now.

Joining me now with the latest, CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar and national political reporter Peter Hamby.

Welcome to both of you.

Brianna, I want to start with you. Why did Hillary Clinton decide to do this today?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This appears to be the venue where she could do it. I think there are a couple of things. You have to look at where she would have had an opportunity. Saturday she was in Miami. And I think the Clinton camp was waiting to see if this whole e-mail controversy which broke last Tuesday, if it might sort of go away over the weekend. Well, it was very clear that it didn't, right?

You saw the Sunday shows, Democrats starting to come out saying that she needed to get out and talk about this and then yesterday she had an event. But it was a joint event between the Clinton Foundation and the Gates Foundation, and it seemed like if she was going to do that there, then it was really going to distract. But basically her team determined this was untenable to not address this.

COSTELLO: I'm just stunned, Peter, that they thought this thing would just go away.

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, you know, I think Brianna is exactly right. I think Clinton world for, you know, several decades in fact has been through so many, you know, you know, brush fires and micro-controversies and things that they see are overinflated by the media that just naturally die away. And I think they wanted to see if they could get through the weekend without this, you know, becoming a bigger fire.

You know, we talk a lot in the media about death of the Sunday show but the Sunday shows turned out to be pretty powerful especially when Dianne Feinstein said -- you know, the senator from California -- that Hillary needs to address this. That's when you start to see a lot of Democrats coming out of the woodwork both in Washington and in those key early primary states saying that she needs to address these issues.

There are so many unanswered questions about this that, you know, can't be answered in 140-character tweet like the one they put out last Wednesday. Did she ever delete any e-mails? Did she get some kind of pass to do -- to have a private e-mail address?

I mean, you be can sure that Republicans are going to be watching every moment of this and feeding even more questions to reporters. I'm interested to see whether, you know, former Secretary Clinton does sort of a brief press conference or a really long kind of press conference like Chris Christie did last year after the bridge-gate scandal broke. Either way, it's hard to see that people are going to be satisfied after, you know, she does this press conference.

Remember, this is something that's not going to go away. The State Department is still going through thousands of pages of e-mails and the Benghazi Committee is not going to let this die away -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Whatever she says, this will last for months and months. Those 55,000 e-mails, a lot of e-mails to go through, right? And you're investigating each and every one. There may be more. Right?

KEILAR: And they're paper copies.

COSTELLO: And they're paper copies. KEILAR: They're not even -- they're not even e-mails. They're

actually physically paper copies we have learned. So that's one of the questions. But the big question is why did she do all of her business on a personal e-mail? Why did she set up this server? And why did she wait until years after leaving the State Department to turn over those paper copies of the e-mails?

COSTELLO: Well, hopefully we'll get some answers to, what, around 2:00 Eastern Time.

KEILAR: Hopefully.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, Peter Hamby, thanks so much.

Former members of the now defunct Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma have until midnight tonight to vacate their house. In the meantime the president of the university says the school is trying to determine whether or not it can legally expel those responsible.

But perhaps the biggest fallout will come for the university's storied football team. Yesterday football players linked arms and walked out of practice in protest. In the meantime, the school's famed former coach Barry Switzer, an honorary member of SEA, tried to calm things down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY SWITZER, FORMER UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL COACH: I have never heard that form of language. I was just disgusted when I heard it. These kids pay a tremendous price for it because they knew nothing about it. They won't accept it. They wouldn't have had any of them. They would expelled them themselves. The people that were on the bus were freshman and don't even live in this house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Nick Valencia is on the university campus in Norman, Oklahoma, with more.

Good morning, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Students and faculty continuing to speak out about this racial scandal that rocked the university involving the Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the largest fraternity in the United States with over 15,000 members and it is the university with a checkered past that became all too familiar with the students here over the weekend after that video surfaced.

We've been hearing from students all throughout the days that we've been here and some of the loudest voices have come from Unheard, the alliance of black students here that organized after the no verdict, no decision in the Mike Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri. They say they want a cultural change here on campus.

Earlier they were on CNN reacting to video that SAE is responsible for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEAGAN JOHNSON, CO-DIRECTOR, UNHEARD: Now I wouldn't say that racism on campus is as blunt as that video using the N word or specifically pointing and laughing at us. But I would say in smaller ways as far as not being able -- not feeling as welcomed in a class or not being able to get the same responses from your peers as others, and just not feeling as welcome on a campus as we should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Now back here on campus here in Norman, Oklahoma, another rally by that organization Unheard is expected to be planned later tonight where they say they hope to have as big of a crowd as they saw here yesterday.

Many of the students that we've spoken to, in fact one in particular said that she was shocked that SAE was the fraternity caught on camera doing this because she says that there's frats here at the university that are much worse.

Many students that we've also spoken to, Carol, calling for an investigation of the entire Greek system here at the university.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Valencia reporting live from Norman, Oklahoma, this morning.

The university president is pulling no punches with his response promising to find a way to legally expel the students involved in that hateful video. Earlier I spoke with the university president, David Boren, about the school's plan to discipline the students involved and about the ongoing investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Do you know who took the video on that bus?

BOREN: We do know who took that video. It was a female student and I think there were students who were very disturbed about what went on. Students who were on the bus were also disturbed. Particularly the women on the bus. And they made sure that it got to be public. And I think that was their way of protesting what was going on.

COSTELLO: So it was a member of Tri Delt who took video?

BOREN: We don't know. I'm not sure of the affiliation. This was not an official sorority event. It was an SAE event and they had individual dates, some were sorority members, some were not sorority members. Not any particular sorority was involved in that event. It was strictly the fraternity event.

COSTELLO: There were reportedly, though, sorority members on that bus, the Tri Delt. The Tri-Delt Houses, they're cooperating with officials. Is there also an investigation into that sorority? BOREN: Well, we're looking at everything. I wouldn't call it an

investigation, though. We're really looking at the whole Greek culture on the campus and we have been for quite a long while. We've had a very constructive conversation several months ago with the group called Unheard that was formed after the Ferguson incident, and we've been looking at various ways that we can improve the climate.

We feel we have a very strong family at the University of Oklahoma. And you've seen that. There was a demonstration of total outrage from the entire student body, students of all races and all backgrounds came together. Yesterday our athletic teams came together. That's the real Sooners. Those are the real Sooners. They're not racists and bigots. They're -- real Sooners really respect each other.

And they were outraged that impression could be given that we're otherwise at this university. And that's why we've moved so slickly.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But that these fraternity brothers could so easily sing this song and they didn't show any shame in doing so.

BOREN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Doesn't that illustrate that there's a problem on campus somewhere?

BOREN: Well, there's a problem with them, that's for sure. And that's the reason we moved immediately. We didn't wait. We closed the house. They're moving out their belongings. The house -- the windows are being boarded up. The Greek signs were taken off. I wanted that done right away. Because I think we have to send a message no, we're not going to just study this. We have to send a message of zero tolerance and by doing that if there are any other bad actors out there potentially at our university.

And I hope at any other university across the country, and I hope the general public across the country will decide we're going to speak out when someone makes a racist remark or anything else even in a social situation. We Americans have to stand up and show that zero tolerance and we hope we're going to be a model for that and I'm pursuing right now the legal rights of the university to act against individual students when we can identify them.

We think we've identified two or three of the ring leaders who were encouraging the singing of that chant. And if I can, I'm going to send them home packing for good.

COSTELLO: Let me just run this by you, President. Your famed coach Barry Switzer, an honorary member of SAE, says that the school should not punish the entire fraternity for the actions of a few. It seems that the two of you are not on the same page with how the school is responding.

BOREN: No, no, I'm certainly not. I'm on the same page with our Coach Bob Stoops, our Athletics Director Joe Castiglione, who yesterday marched with the students and said it was the right thing to do. They've supported me 100 percent. So have our regents.

Yes -- no, there's no place for that fraternity on campus. I'm sorry. They've created a culture that allowed a substantial number of their members at a social situation like this to engage in this chant. And I'm sorry.

No, I don't agree with him. And I'm never going to agree with him about that. We have to send a message. The strongest possible message. That's not who we are. That's not who Sooners are. And we're not going to tolerate them on this campus. Not for a second.

COSTELLO: The student who heads up the group Unheard had pleaded for more diversity in the student body, the teaching staff, the administration.

BOREN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Will there now be an effort to address her concerns?

BOREN: There's already an effort. There's been an ongoing effort for about four months. And the others with her have been meeting with me and I -- she is certainly let me feel that we were doing everything we could to make constructive progress. And I think particularly, you know, you don't hire faculty members overnight. You try to increase the pool of applicants.

A very strong goal is diversity here. Students have voted with their feet in Oklahoma and of the major colleges in Oklahoma we have more students of color, more African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics than any other school. And I think that demonstrates that overall we have a very welcoming environment.

And that's why the students and not just students of color, all of our students, are so outraged by this incident because this isn't us. And we're not going to tolerate it. Now we're not perfect. And we're already working with the Unheard group. I think they've been very constructive. When I met with them, I found myself agreeing with about 95 percent of what they wanted us to do.

We're en route to do that. I have student affairs working on increasing diversity in all of the student campus committees like homecoming and other committees. And we're working on recruitment, faculty and otherwise. So this is something we're really working on and I think we'll see results.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right. My thanks to the University of Oklahoma president, David Boren.

Also this morning on "AT THIS HOUR," Berman and Bolduan speak with the man who may be OU's last black member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. That's today, 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, released from the hospital. The one thing the U.S. ambassador to South Korea could not wait to do after a vicious attack. We'll tell you next.

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COSTELLO: To Wisconsin now where three days of protests have taken over the state capitol of Madison after police shot and killed Tony Robinson, a 19-year-old biracial man. He was unarmed. His family declaring it does not support anti-police sentiment and urging demonstrators to remain calm as they seek answers.

The incident galvanizing hundreds of students who have blanketed the streets along with government buildings, chanting and displaying signs that read, "Black Lives Matter."

CNN's Brian Todd is in Madison this morning.

Good morning.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You mentioned the three days of protests. Palpable tension here on the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, following Friday's shooting death of 19-year-old Tony Robinson.

Yesterday hundreds of students and adults marched from their schools over here to the state capitol. They came in a side entrance there and lined up inside the rotunda, an orderly protest for the most part. And this is a city of course with a history of protests. They really kind of -- I heard somebody here today -- this latest this morning that they really know -- they're professional about staging protests in the city because they have a history of this that goes back to the '60s.

But of course this protest comes on the heels of the Ferguson case, of the shooting of Michael Brown over the summer, plus the shooting of Eric Garner on Staten Island so the tension even more palpable here in Madison given the timing of all of this.

We did hear from the police chief, Mike Koval, about the complicated nature of this particular case. Plus Tony Robinson's uncle, Turin Carter, who as you mentioned said that they're not anti-police but they do have concerns about the police behavior. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURIN CARTER, UNCLE OF WISCONSIN TEEN KILLED BY POLICE: This highlights a universal problem with law enforcement, how its procedures have been carried out. Especially in light of what's happened over the summertime specifically as it pertains to the systematic targeting of young, black males.

CHIEF MIKE KOVAL, MADISON POLICE: He was unarmed. That's going to make this all the more complicated for the investigators, for the public, to accept, to understand that deadly force had to be used.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And lots of questions being asked about the use of deadly force in this case and what the police protocols are when they get a call that someone is being violent but not getting some information that whether someone is armed or not. That's not clear as to whether they got that information or not and those are the questions that are being asked. This case is under investigation.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is getting the case. The attorney general of the state is going to get a report after that.

Now as for protests, Carol, that's a little bit fluid at the moment. There is a major protest planned for tomorrow afternoon. As for today, the organizers say they're kind of go with the mood of the community to determine whether to stage rallies or not today. That information a little unclear at this hour -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Brian Todd reporting live from Madison, Wisconsin, this morning. Thank you.

Checking other top stories for you at 19 minutes past the hour. The U.S. ambassador to South Korea is back home today. Mark Lippert was released from the hospital where he spent five days recovering from a knife attack. He suffered injuries to his face and arms. He says he won't change his open and friendly approach that endeared him to so many South Koreans.

Three French sports stars were among 10 people killed when two helicopters collided over Argentina in a reality TV disaster. The passengers were reportedly filming the French show "Dropped" when the disaster took place. Paris prosecutors say they've opened a manslaughter investigation into the crash.

Next hour, the Washington National Cathedral will host a funeral service for the late senator, Edward William Brook III. The Massachusetts Republican was the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate. Secretary of State Kerry is expected to give remarks.

And starting this summer, Marriott will become the first major hotel chain to begin accepting Apple Pay. The service is now available on all iPhone 6 models and will also be available on the Apple Watch when it hits stores in April.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealing he had plans to take back Crimea before the region passed a secession referendum. Details after this.

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COSTELLO: The Pentagon is sending tanks, artillery and some 3,000 U.S. troops to the Baltics for a multi-national training mission. That's according to Reuters which reports the 90-day exercises aimed at easing NATO fears of a potential Russian aggression.

This is President Vladimir Putin admits he secretly planned to reclaim Crimea last year before the region passed a cessation referendum which he always cited as the main reason for Russia's annexation of the region from Ukraine.

CNN's Matthew Chance live in Moscow with more for you.

Hi, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. That's right. Previously the Kremlin's position had always been that they annexed Crimea back in March of last year after a referendum had been held in that area of what was then Ukraine which returned 97 percent support for it joining Russia.

Up until now, it hasn't been clear that that was part of a preplanned operation to get Crimea back into the Russian fold as it were. There's been a new documentary that's been put out to mark the year anniversary since the annexation of Crimea. It's called "A Path to the Motherland." So a very sort of nationalistic title.

In it Vladimir Putin sets out that he made the decision to get Crimea back some weeks before the referendum was held. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator: I called the leaders of special services and the Ministry of Defense to the Kremlin, and I laid the task out before them to save the life of the president of Ukraine. Otherwise they would have just destroyed him. There were heavy machine guns there. In order not to have to talk a lot, we readied to take him out of Donetsk.

"By Land, by sea, and by air. It was the night of the 22nd to the 23rd. We ended up about at 7:00 in the morning. And in partying I said to all colleagues, we have to start working on return of Crimea to Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Right. Well, two things revealed in that short clip from the documentary which hasn't yet been aired on Russian television by the way. First of all, the idea that this was a preplanned operation. Secondly that Russia special forces, that's what President Putin revealed there, had prepared an operation to evacuate the toppled president of Ukraine, Victor Yanukovych. Details of that up until now not been known -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So why is this documentary coming out now?

VALENCIA: It's coming out to commemorate the first anniversary of the return, I suppose, in the Russian point of view, the annexation of Crimea, to the Russian federation. It's been something they've obviously been working on for a while. It's very highly produced.

Vladimir Putin very rarely gives interviews. But in this documentary, obviously there's a in-depth interview with him with a Russian journalist. So this is just a clip of that.

Very interesting though that again it is Vladimir Putin revising the previous statements that he made not just to Russia but to the international community about what went on, how this situation unfolded.

COSTELLO: All right. Matthew Chance reporting live from Moscow.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the vice president calls it beneath Congress. Now Iran is responding to a letter from Republicans over the nuclear talks. That's next.

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