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Blackhawk Crashed in Night Training Exercise; Iraqi Forces Now Control Hospital in Key City; Obama Administration Slams GOP over Iran Letter; Jurors See Tsarnaev's Blood-Stained Messages; Clinton Takes on Critics Over Email Flap

Aired March 11, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: NEWSROOM starts now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. We do begin with breaking news. Thank you so much for joining me.

All 11 service members aboard an Army Blackhawk chopper that went down in the waters off the Florida Panhandle are presumed dead. Search and rescue efforts got underway last night after the helicopter crashed during a routine training exercise.

So let's go right to CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns.

So what more can you tell us?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol. This was some type of training mission involving the Marines Special Operations Unit from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

It's a Blackhawk helicopter that apparently went down. The aircraft assigned to the Hammond, Louisiana, Air National Guard. They were participating in a training exercise overnight. The soldiers on board apparently with the National Guard as well.

That helicopter was reported missing about 8:30 last night, the first debris from the chopper was located by a search and rescue team. Around 2:00 in the morning.

Now this is still being described as a search and rescue operation, but as you said, all people on board are presumed dead. So we haven't heard any official reclassification of that search and rescue effort. Nonetheless, it's clear that the military doesn't think this looks good for the people on board.

COSTELLO: This helicopter took off last night. There was heavy fog in the area. Tell us more about the conditions.

JOHNS: Right. Heavy fog. It's not clear at all whether the visibility may have contributed to the situation. A second helicopter was also involved in this exercise, but that second chopper's personnel on board have all returned safely to base. So it's not thought that there was any type of a mid-air collision that caused this crash. The military has withheld the names of the individuals on board the chopper that crashed pending the notification of next of kin.

And as you would well expect, Carol, at this stage, there's going to be an investigation into exactly what happened.

COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about that investigation now.

Joe Johns, thanks so much.

I want to bring in now the spokeswoman for Eglin Air Force Base. She's the public affairs officer, Sara Vidoni.

Thanks for joining us, Sara.

SARA VIDONI, EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: First of all, just our sympathies. This must be -- I just can't imagine what the base is going through at this moment.

VIDONI: Thank you. We appreciate that.

COSTELLO: Can you tell us more about what happened as far as you know?

VIDONI: Sure. Obviously the investigation -- accident is still under investigation. What we do know is that two UH-60 aircraft that were assigned to Louisiana Army National Guard were participating in a training exercise overnight. One of the aircraft, which had four air crew and seven Marines assigned from Camp Lejeune, was involved in an accident. It was near our Eglin Range site A-17 which is just east of Navarre. It was in the vicinity of one of our test and training beach areas.

The helicopter was reported missing about 8:30 last night. Debris was located by the search and rescue team at about 2:00 a.m. this morning. If you look outside our windows right now, it is -- the day -- the sun has finally come up, however, there is still an intense amount of fog and so search and rescue efforts do continue but it is -- it is slow going due to the heavy fog and the impact on their efforts.

The second helicopter that was a part of the exercise did return to base and all are accounted for at this time from them.

COSTELLO: Is it normal, Sara, to train when there's heavy fog?

VIDONI: You know, the -- there's training in all conditions. That's part of the military mission. I don't know the specifics about this training mission and what they were doing for this mission, but, you know, they were out there doing what the military does.

COSTELLO: What is this helicopter equipped with in the event of a crash? VIDONI: Unfortunately, the aircraft is assigned to the 1-244th

Assault Helicopter Battalion so they would have to provide that information. At Eglin Air Force Base, we are just responsible for the air space that they're flying in.

COSTELLO: All right. Sara Vidoni, spokeswoman for the Eglin Air Force Base, thanks so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

Also this hour, on Capitol Hill the power of the presidency and the authority to send American troops into war. Minutes from now the Senate Foreign Relations Committee opens its hearing on the White House's strategy to defeat ISIS.

There are skeptics on both sides of the aisle and a surprising reversal of roles. Some Republicans believe the proposal is too limiting and many of the president's fellow Democrats worry it's too open-ended.

Top Obama officials will make their pitch. Due to testify today, the Secretary of State John Kerry, the Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey.

In a bit of sad irony, while the Senate decides whether to authorize war, the actual war has long been underway. And thanks to American guidance on the ground and oddly Iran, Iraqi forces have proved they can fight.

Earlier today Iraqi soldiers took control of a hospital in Tikrit, a sign of military might against ISIS. That hospital just a few blocks south of the presidential palaces.

Let's bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, she's live this morning from Istanbul with more.

Good morning.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, and although planting that flag on the hospital may be a temporary sign of Iraq's military might, the battle is far from over.

The Iraqi Security Forces along with Iranian backed Shia militias and a handful of Sunni tribes have been attempting to recapture the strategic city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, from ISIS, approaching it from four different directions. But whilst there has been some success made on that front, in Ramadi, a critical city as well, deep in Iraq's Sunni heartland, ISIS there launching its own offensive against the Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi government in the city of Ramadi in and it of itself.

The deputy head of the provincial council telling CNN that ISIS launched around 150 mortars and grad missiles into the city, detonating also at least 17 vehicles packed with explosives, describing it as being the most intense attempt by ISIS to recapture Ramadi. ISIS has been in control of some parts of the city for quite some time

now and has previously launched failed attempts to capture the city center. This most certainly seeming, though, at least according to the deputy head of the provincial council, an attempt by ISIS to bolster its credentials to prove that it is still a very solid fighting force despite those preliminary losses in Tikrit.

COSTELLO: How much influence did American -- did American personnel on the ground have as far as advising these Iraqi troops to fight for Tikrit?

DAMON: Look, the U.S. assistance at this stage has been quite critical in the form of air support. Those airstrikes perhaps not pushing ISIS as far back as many would have liked, but the U.S. does say that because of the airstrikes that took place in Baiji, this then allowed the Iraqi Security Forces to move forward to move towards Tikrit.

Interestingly the Iraqi Security Forces and those militias fighting on the ground are saying that the U.S. hasn't really done enough or all that much when it comes to the specific battle for Tikrit. There we're seeing much more of an overt Iranian presence, Iranian advisers on the ground. No one really trying to hide the fact that Iran is very heavily involved specifically when it comes to the battle for Tikrit with the U.S. taking more of a backseat.

But broadly speaking those airstrikes launched by the U.S.-led coalition have been having an impact but, again, people want to see more. They want to see a more concerted attempt because it has been months now since ISIS first took over huge parts of Iraq over the summer and there have not really been those significant types of strides that one would like to have seen eight months after ISIS first entered Iraq.

COSTELLO: All right. Arwa Damon reporting live from Istanbul this morning.

The letter warned Iran that any nuclear deal with the United States would face serious scrutiny from Congress. Now the 47 senators behind that letter are facing sharp criticism from the Obama administration, amid concerns fragile talks could be harmed as a result.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House with more.

Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, from the administration's standpoint their focus diplomatically speaking is on Sunday. That's when Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Switzerland and sit down for face-to-face discussions with the Iranian Foreign minister. The first face-to-face discussions these two leaders have had since that controversial Republican letter came out.

Now the State Department says amid all of this controversy over that letter that the important thing they say to know is that the Iranians are still at the negotiating table. The State Department official says that the chances of getting a deal are still at 50-50 and that's something that the president himself said just this weekend the chances are 50-50, he said that that was also before this letter came out.

Now all that said, at the same time the administration is also saying that this Republican letter is harmful to the talks. Here's the latest from the State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We believe it's harmful to America's national security for anyone to insert themselves into the middle of a very sensitive negotiation and the long history we have of working cooperatively with nations around the globe and seeking to advance our interests where we allow bipartisanship issues to stop at the water's edge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And the 47 Republican senators who signed on to this letter, they're not backing down. In fact, they are doubling down as Senator Marco Rubio, Republican from Florida, he says he would go ahead and sign another letter he thinks that's so important because the threat from Iran, he believes, is that great. And he said even if it takes an unusual method to get there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, live from the White House this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, jurors get a look at the blood-stained messages the accused Boston marathon bomber scrawled while he was hiding out in a boat.

CNN's Alexandra Field is in Boston.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Carol. Prosecutors say that that message shows the motivation for the marathon bombing attack. We'll tell you what exactly that note said coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An FBI agent is back on the stand today in the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev's own words may decide whether he ultimately gets the death penalty.

The jury got a look at blood-stained messages he scrawled in a boat where he was hiding out when he was captured. Tsarnaev says he wanted to see the U.S. government be punished. He also said, quote, "Know you are fighting men who look into the barrel of your gun and see heaven. Now how can you compete with that? We are promised victory and we will surely get it," end quote.

CNN's Alexandra Field is covering the trial. She has more for us this morning.

Good morning.

FIELD: Hey there, Carol. Good morning.

The trial is getting underway this morning. We expect today to hear about the murder of MIT Police Officer Shawn Collier.

But before the prosecution moves into that phase of the trial, they'll tell the jury more about how they collected key pieces of evidence, including that note left inside the boat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): The final moments of the manhunt for the younger marathon bombing suspect, infrared confirmed the target is alive and moving. A series of flash bang grenades, then Dzhokhar Tsarnaev comes out hands up.

What was he thinking hiding out in a boat parked in a backyard? Prosecutors submit his own words as evidence.

"God has a plan for each person. Mine was to hide in this boat and shed some light on our actions. I ask Allah to make me a shahied, to allow me to return to him and be among all the righteous people in the highest levels of heaven." The message is written in the side of the boat evidence in pencil, riddled with bullets and streaks with blood.

"The U.S. government is killing our innocent civilians but most of you already know that," he writes. "I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished. We Muslims are one body. You hurt one, you hurt us all." Evidence of radical beliefs motivating the marathon attacks.

Using more of his own words against him, the prosecution points to these tweets on the night of the bombing, "Ain't no love in the heart of the city. Stay safe, people."

The next day, "I'm a stress free kind of guy."

And this one posted a year before, "They will spend their money and they will regret it and then they will be defeated." The prosecution suggesting it shows Dzhokhar had spent ample time plotting.

The defense countering. The majority of his tweets were about cars, food and girls like this one. "I want to study abroad or two."

The then-19-year-old the defense says manipulated by his brother and pulled into a deadly plot.

Tamerlan dies in a shootout with Watertown police. Dzhokhar takes off. A day later, they zero in on him and the message he left behind. "I'm jealous of my brother who received the reward of jannutul Firdaush, inshalah, before me."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: A law enforcement witness for the prosecution has testified that that note was written before it was stained with blood. The prosecution hasn't yet addressed the extent of injuries that Tsarnaev may have had before he climbed into the boat. They haven't talked about how he was injured in the confrontation with police, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alexandra Field, reporting live from Boston this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: Hillary Clinton said her personal e- mail account was all about convenience and not about covering anything up. But will it silence her critics? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton and email-gate. As "Politico" so succinctly put it, Clinton told the press to go to hell. She said she did not break the law. She said she had a server in her home and sent out State Department e-mails for convenience and, no, she will not allow a third party to rummage through her personal email, not even her yoga schedule.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE STATE: We have more than met the requests from the State Department. The server contains personal communications from my husband and me, and I believe I have met all of my responsibilities and the server will remain private.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Clinton also berated the 47 Republican senators for sending a letter to Iran that says any nuclear deal between the United States and Iran will likely be nullified when President Obama leaves office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: What was the purpose of this letter? There appear to be two logical answers. Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the commander-in-chief in the midst of high stakes international diplomacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That letter is now the subject of a WhiteHouse.gov petition effort to declare those senators traitors. They stand by their efforts, though, as do probable presidential contenders, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. All of them signed that letter.

Joining me now to talk about this is Mike Mukasey, former attorney general under President George W. Bush.

Welcome, sir. I'm so glad you're here. I can't wait to hear what you have to say about all this. So, you're smiling because you're glad you're not right in the thick of it anymore, right?

MICHAEL MUKASEY, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: That's one of the reasons I'm smiling, yes.

COSTELLO: Exactly, exactly.

First, Hillary Clinton and email-gate. I had to call it that. I couldn't resist. Some Republicans are thinking of subpoenaing Clinton's private e-mails. Will they be successful?

MUKASEY: They may very well. I think they -- you have to subpoena the server. But in order to get that done successfully, you have to get it past the committee. Then, it would have to be voted by the entire body, presumably the Senate or the House. And then, if she refused to turn it over, it would be enforced by the Justice Department.

Well, guess what? I don't think the Department of Justice will likely to enforce that. So, it's going to be problematic.

COSTELLO: So, it will be an exercise in futility.

MUKASEY: Well, it will be an exercise in public relations. That's not always futile, it does illustrate the point. But as far as the bottom line of getting it, may very well be futile.

COSTELLO: The Republican in question, Trey Gowdy, he wants to know about Benghazi and in Clinton's mind, I would think, it's more than that. It's a fishing expedition to dig up dirt to use as a weapon. Is that fair?

MUKASEY: In order to find out what's there that's relevant, you have to sift through there. Obviously it would be a whole lot easier if she turned over the server and let people go through it, find what's relevant, find what's not relevant. She clearly thinks that letting people speculate about what's on the server is a lot better than turning the server -- turning over the server itself.

COSTELLO: She says people should trust her. She turned over, what, half of the e-mails in question. Some 60,000 e-mails, 30,000 of which were personal that she wants to keep personal.

MUKASEY: Turned them over in paper form rather than electronic form so they can't be searched and she decides what's relevant and what isn't. She sent -- in June of 2011, she sent a memo all over the world to everybody in the State Department saying you should not conduct official business on a personal e-mail account, period. Nobody should.

So, it's one rule for me, one rule for you -- and saying we should trust her, that's a bit of a reach.

COSTELLO: So, in your mind, should voters look at this as a lack of transparency, a breach of security, or a whole bunch of nothing.

MUKASEY: Yes to the first two and no to the third.

COSTELLO: OK.

MUKASEY: Breach of transparency, possible breach of security, because personal e-mails obviously can be hacked if you got a telephone on there, if it can be turned on by somebody without your knowledge and used as a listening device.

COSTELLO: Well, oddly enough, Dana Bash did some digging on that very question. The State Department e-mails were hacked and are in danger of being hacked every day. Hillary Clinton's server at home was never hacked, and there was never any security information leaked.

MUKASEY: How do we know that?

COSTELLO: That's what the State Department says.

MUKASEY: I'm sure it's what the State Department says. I'm asking again, how do we know that? We don't.

COSTELLO: OK, let's turn our attention to Iran now. Clinton talked about the e-mails. She berated Republicans for sending that letter to Iran. Some say it amounts to treason.

In your mind, does it?

MUKASEY: Oh, it's not treason. Treason is aiding the enemy in war time. We're not at war with Iran. This is not aiding them.

COSTELLO: Some say it could push us into a war with Iran.

MUKASEY: Come on. That letter isn't going to push us into a war with Iran. What pushes us into a war with Iran is Iran trying to get a bomb without complying with agreements and that they've been doing for years and years.

COSTELLO: Was it prudent for these Republican senators to send this letter?

MUKASEY: I don't think it was. I think the Iranians already know that this is a matter of dispute within the Senate, which would have to ratify a treaty if it's regarded as a treaty and handled as a treaty, as I think it should be. They know that there's opposition to it.

They know if it's simply an executive agreement, then when the next executive takes office, that next president could undo it. They know that. And putting it in a letter I think is a little bit in your face.

COSTELLO: Some people think that the sole reason they did this was to just tweak, poke President Obama in the eye because they dislike him so much.

MUKASEY: Well, it's not -- I don't think it's a question of personal dislike, I think it's a question of very serious opposition to what appears to be a bad deal and what the president is not disclosing to them. Ideally, he would get them on board confidentially and tell them what's in it, but he hasn't done that.

COSTELLO: How would you have reacted, you know, because you were in the thick of things right after 9/11, right? Right in the midst of the war on terror. MUKASEY: I was then -- I was then a judge but, yes.

COSTELLO: But then you became attorney general while we were still fighting, right?

MUKASEY: Right.

COSTELLO: Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. I don't know, it brings to mind what if Democratic senators opposed to the war in Iraq would have written a letter to Saddam Hussein?

MUKASEY: Bad form. Bad idea.

COSTELLO: Inconceivable, right?

MUKASEY: I don't know about inconceivable, but bad idea.

COSTELLO: Bad idea.

So, advice you would give to senators now? Because, you know, this hearing is going on to give the president authorization for war. It's the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and all but two Republicans signed that letter to Iran.

MUKASEY: Advice I would give the senators? First off, I'm not generally in the business of giving political advice. But on this subject, I think it's much more important to get the public behind, that is the American people, behind their view if that's what they want to do, as to the wisdom or unwisdom of the deal rather than send a letter of this sort.

COSTELLO: Mr. Attorney General, thanks for being with me. I appreciate it.

MUKASEY: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM: any moment now testimony will begin on Capitol Hill. Under discussion, President Obama and his plans to take down ISIS. We'll take you live to the hearing, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)