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Iran Letter from GOP Draws Reaction; Two Officers Shot in Ferguson Last Night; New Surveillance Video of Tsarnaev Brothers on MIT Campus

Aired March 12, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Deception, trickery and backstabbing. Iran's supreme leader blasting world powers in a controversial letter sent by that group of GOP senators warning that a nuclear deal won't last. Earlier today, during a speech in Tehran, the Ayatollah Khamenei warned that the letter is all part of a U.S. strategy to backtrack on negotiations and undermine Iran's nuclear ambitions. That letter already sparking fierce debate here at home. The secretary of state, John Kerry, slamming Republicans Wednesday while he testified on Capitol Hill.

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JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: My reaction to the letter was utter disbelief. During my 29 years here in the Senate, I never heard of, nor even heard of it being proposed, anything comparable to this. But to write to the leaders in the middle of a negotiation, particularly the leaders that they have criticized other people for even engaging with or writing to, to write them and suggest that they're going to give a constitutional lesson, which, by the way, was absolutely incorrect, is quite stunning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, let's talk more about this with CNN's chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

Are at least some Republicans who signed that letter backtracking a bit?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be happening a little bit. Not so much about signing the letter, but about the way that the reaction has been so explosive and they didn't expect it. John McCain, for example, who, at the beginning of the week, was incredibly staunchly defending the fact that this was the right thing to do to send this letter, now sounds a little bit different. Listen to what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: What that letter did was tell the Iranians that whatever deal they make, that the Congress of the United States is going to play a role. Maybe that wasn't exactly the best way to do that, but I think that the Iranians should know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: He's also quoted as saying, Carol, that, you know, that they were -- that Congress wasn't in town because of a snowstorm last week in Washington and maybe they should have taken a little bit more time. There you said -- he said it was a very -- it was kind of a very rapid process. Everybody was looking forward to getting out of town because of the snowstorm. I think we probably should have had more discussion about it. And I would guess a lot of people are saying, you think?

COSTELLO: OK, so let's -- let's just -- yes, exactly, let's parse that out. So you sign a letter quickly to Iran because you're in a hurry to leave town because of a snowstorm?

BASH: Well, I think -- I think what is most sort of detrimental here is that when it comes to Congress having an imprint on what's happening in Iran, this has been bipartisan. There's already a pretty large group of Democrats who support Republicans, bipartisan legislation, to actually pass legislation to say, Mr. President, you're not going to be able to, you know, not ratify, because this is not a treaty, but this is not going to be something that we can really sign on to as a United States government unless Congress does so.

This has made that bipartisan movement a little bit more partisan. A lot more partisan. You see some Democrats who were thinking about signing on to make that even a veto proof majority to do so, backing away to saying, wait a minute, this is not the kind of partisanship that I wanted to sign on to.

COSTELLO: All right, Dana Bash, thanks so much.

BASH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk a little bit more about this and dig a little deeper with Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis. I'm also joined by CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Tara Setmayer.

Welcome to both of you.

CHRIS KOFINIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you.

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Tara, you called this whole controversy a kerfuffle, which is way less than a serious breach of protocol. Really, a kerfuffle?

SETMAYER: Yes. I mean, first of all, we need to talk -- we need to, first of all, acknowledge that this is not the first time where you've had the Congress engage in foreign policy partisanship. This has happened many times over the years. We can go back to Ted Kennedy in '83 when he tried to insert himself into negotiations with Moscow and undermine President Reagan, to the former speaker of the House, Democrats went right --

COSTELLO: So he wrote a letter?

SETMAYER: No, he -- this was worse. He wanted to go there and have negotiations in Moscow. That's worse. Then you had Jim Wright (ph), who was trying -- who actually tried to have negotiations with Ortega in 80 -- in the '80s when Reagan was going through the whole Iran Contra thing. But that happened too. And then most recently you had Nancy Pelosi, who went over to Syria and sat down with Bashar -- Asher al Bassad (ph), trying to negotiate bringing a note from the, you know, Israelis. I mean these things can happen.

COSTELLO: While the negotiations were going on? While negotiations were going on with 26 countries?

SETMAYER: Yes. That was even -- absolutely, yes. But the whole reason why we're in this position and what those senators did, we're not talking about one or two rogue right wing senators. We're talking about almost half of the United States Senate whose job it is to advise and consent on international treaties and negotiations -- and agreements like this. The president has already made it clear that he does not plan on going to the Senate for any approval. So they were simply reminding everyone, including the president himself, of what the proper constitutional order is when negotiating agreements like this. And this one is particularly awful.

COSTELLO: So, Chris, is it just a kerfuffle then in light of what Tara said?

KOFINIS: I mean, it is an embarrassment to the Republican Party and Republican Senate leaders. I mean, to call it unprecedented that 47 senators decided to, you know, immerse themselves in a, you know, sensitive negotiations about a, you know, a potential nuclear deal with Iran, the part that troubles me the most is that when you boil it down, what do the Republicans think the best course of action here is? If you talk to most of the Republicans, they seem to think that in the absence of an agreement what's going to happen? If you push them further, they don't either -- either they have no answer or their option is, you know, some type of war. Now how is that a smart strategy?

Putting that aside, to, you know, the constitutional question, this is a real beyond pale attack of the presidential -- the president and his powers. Forget about whether it's President Obama or not, this has never happened in this nation's history, 47 senators doing this. It's really unprecedented. And again, you know, to anyone who wants to be objective about it, it really is shocking. And you're not -- I'm not surprised that Senator McCain and others are stepping back. They have been pilloried by editorials, and Republicans and Democrats, I can tell you in this town, you know, are really upset that the Republicans did this because from a political angle it doesn't make any sense.

COSTELLO: Well -- well, Tara, what I will say -- I will say you -- wait, wait, wait. Tara, I will say, you heard what Dana Bash said. At the very least, you know, there was going to be this bipartisan agreement to perhaps veto this deal that the president signed, right? SETMAYER: Right.

COSTELLO: Democrats were like all up for passing some sort of bill that would allow them to do that, but now they're not so sure. Isn't that a bad thing?

SETMAYER: Well, that's a different -- that's a -- well, that's a different discussion. I think there's a fair discussion as to whether the --

COSTELLO: It's not a different discussion.

SETMAYER: No, it is. Whether it's -- whether it's constitutional, unprecedented and all of the hyperbolic language that's being used to describe this, which none of that is true, this is political theater, that's a difference discussion as to whether the --

KOFINIS: It is not a political theater.

SETMAYER: Yes, it is. I just gave you three examples out of many of where this has happened way worse than this.

KOFINIS: No, you -- when you say that, with all respect, you diminish -- listen, you diminish the significance of what they have done. And what they have done is actually step into the boundaries that is the purview of the president of the United States.

SETMAYER: No, that --

KOFINIS: That is not just an insult to the president, it's an insult to the country. I'm sorry, it is not just -- don't diminish the significance of this.

SETMAYER: No, what's an insult to the country is the president of the United States continuing to negotiate in bad faith with the largest global terrorist state in the world that has blood on their hands.

KOFINIS: The president of the United States, whether you like him or not, has that power.

SETMAYER: The president's written letters directly to Ayatollah Khamenei, who has called this country the great Satan (ph).

KOFINIS: Oh, my goodness.

COSTELLO: OK.

SETMAYER: Let's we -- let's stopping arguing over which fork to use at dinner and talk about the content and the actual substance of what these senators are talking about and what's at stake here.

KOFINIS: There is no agreement. What are they -- what are they talking about? What --

SETMAYER: We're talking about a nuclear Iran possibly.

KOFINIS: You are criticizing an agreement that has not been public or been made. This is the part that is comical.

SETMAYER: Oh, come on, it's the worst kept secret in the -- everyone knows basically what's going on in this.

KOFINIS: Really? You know? I haven't seen it.

COSTELLO: OK. (INAUDIBLE). I'm going to have to step back.

SETMAYER: It's that (ph) enriching uranium is still on the table. Come on.

COSTELLO: I'm just glad you guys are in different cities. Thank you so much.

SETMAYER: Well, this is serious business.

COSTELLO: It is serious business. I -- I --

KOFINIS: Please.

SETMAYER: We're talking about -- we're talking about a possible nuclear Iran who wants to destroy Israel and who would a --

KOFINIS: It is. It is -- it is serious business but I mean that's --

SETMAYER: Who would be a completely unstablelizing force in the Middle East.

COSTELLO: And I think -- I think you both would agree on that issue.

SETMAYER: So the president of the United States seems to allow -- seems to be OK with that happening.

COSTELLO: I've got to go though. Chris Kofinis and Tara Setmayer, thanks so much.

KOFINIS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a manhunt for whoever shot and wounded two police officers in Ferguson. The St. Louis police chief set to speak in minutes. We'll take you to St. Louis live.

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COSTELLO: Minutes from now, at the top of the hour, we'll hear more on the overnight shootings of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. The police chief of surrounding St. Louis County is also likely to discuss the search for the person who -- or persons who pulled the trigger.

What you're about to see now are pictures from last night as the shootings unfolded.

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(GUNSHOTS) (SHOUTING)

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COSTELLO: You heard the shots in there and the screams of pain. When it was all over, two officers were shot and a community is inching closer to the precipice of more violence and rage.

CNN's Sara Sidner, she's been following all of these developments overnight. First of all, tell us a little bit more about these police officers who were shot.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So we know where they were shot. One was shot in the shoulder, that was a St. Louis County officer who's 41 years old, 14-year veteran of law enforcement. The other worked for another department, a smaller department, who was there assisting St. Louis County and Ferguson. As these protests grow, usually there are more departments involved in trying to deal with the crowds. And that was a 32-year-old man, 7-year veteran of law enforcement, shot in the face.

And I think when everyone saw "shot in the face", everyone thought, oh my gosh, this is really, really bad. It is serious, but they are expected to survive. That's the good news for the families and for the community. These officers are expected to survive, but it's serious and they're in stable condition.

You're seeing some pictures now of the moments that it happened. You can see the police officers running, crouching down, holding their guns. That was after those shots rang out and after they realized that perhaps they were targets of the shooting. We still don't know that for sure yet, but that is what we have been hearing from the police chief of St. Louis County.

COSTELLO: And the reason we suspect that is the shots came from an overlooking hill.

SIDNER: Yes.

COSTELLO: And these two officers were standing in the midst of crowds of people but they were the ones hit by gunfire.

SIDNER: That's right. But we do know that crowds disperse. So the crowd was dispersing when this all happened, so we're not sure where the officers were exactly and where were the crowds? Because know that the crowd had started to -- some people were starting to go home. It was late. It was around 12:00.

You're looking at a map now of that hill that you talked about. It is a, you know, a street that goes up a hill and into a neighborhood. There is --

COSTELLO: That's Tiffin Avenue?

SIDNER: That's Tiffin Avenue. So on the right-hand side of that orange -- it's a little shopping center, there's a Subway there, there's some to eat. On the left side, there is what's called Andy Warman. Everybody knows it because that's where the protesters gather. It's a huge parking lot of a tire and wheel company.

And so they gather there and then you see where the Ferguson police department is. And oftentimes they'll be first outside in that big parking lot across the street from the department, and then they inch over and get closer and closer to the department.

But we know that the protesters, the ones that were standing close to the department, were terrified. Because we saw them in video running, just running ,trying to get out of the way. And you hear the screaming. Some of that is the person taking that video. And I can tell you, the person that took the video where you hear the sounds of the shots, she's in a wheelchair. So I'm familiar with her because she goes out and protests quite often. And she live streams. And she's in a wheelchair. Her name is Heather. And so she obviously terrified.

COSTELLO: Is that her right there in the wheelchair?

SIDNER: Yes. Yes. So, you know, she's out there. Every time there's a protest, she goes out. She believes in what she's doing. But she live streams everything. So usually you're just seeing live pictures of what's going on. And there it is again. And her moniker is Miss Jupiter 1957.

So we do understand from some of the protesters that the police have been looking for this video and may have gathered some of the video that we are now seeing on the air.

COSTELLO: OK. I guess we'll soon know at the top of the hour. The police chief will speak out. Sara Sidner, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Also to come in the NEWSROOM, a frantic police radio call as the accused Boston Marathon bombers were on the run.

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OFFICER: Oh, my goodness. All units, respond. Officer down. Officer down. All units. Get me to a -- get me to a location. Officer down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Alexandra Field is in Boston. Good morning.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Carol. Good morning. That frantic call for help, also surveillance video and a witness who places Dzhokhar Tsarnaev right next to Sean Collier's car. It's all part of the evidence that we're seeing in court. We'll show it to you coming up right after the break.

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COSTELLO: The trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev resuming this hour. For the first time, the jury is seeing surveillance video that seems to show Tsarnaev and his brother on the run and fatally shooting a campus cop three days after the Marathon attack. Two men walk up to a parked police cruiser at the MIT campus. Shots ring out and the pair flee. Inside that police car, this man, 27-year-old police officer Sean Collier. He was bleeding to death from gunshot wounds.

CNN's Alexandra Field is covering the trial for us in Boston. Tell us more, Alexandra.

FIELD: Good morning, Carol. We heard incredibly painful, graphic and emotional testimony from the officers who fought to save Sean Collier's life when they found him bleeding in his cruiser. We also heard from a graduate student who happened to be in the area at the time. He saw a face and he remembered it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): They killed him for his gun, prosecutors say. But police find it covered in blood still on Officer Sean Collier's body. Minutes earlier, he'd parked his patrol car on MIT's campus. At 10:23 p.m., a surveillance camera shows two people round a corner. Police say that's Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan. They walk down the sidewalk and toward Collier's car. By 10:26, they're gone.

OFFICER: Officer down. Officer down. All units. Get on it!

FIELD: "I went and I took his pulse and there was a slight pulse. Because of the amount of blood on his body, it was difficult to get a grip on him," testifies MIT Police Sergeant Clarence Henniger. He finds Collier still in the car with wounds to his head, neck, and hand. His triple-locking holster only partially unlocked.

Collier died that night, shot just hours after the FBI released video of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar carrying backpacks toward the Marathon bombing sites. On the FBI's own YouTube channel, the video is seen 12 million times in the first 24 hours.

At the same time, investigators have started collecting thousands of pieces of evidence, finding scraps of a backpack, pieces of the pressure cooker bomb, the shrapnel, beebees, nails, zippers. But the search for the suspects continues.

When Collier parks his car, he has no idea the country's most wanted men are coming to campus. Soon, prosecutors say, they head right toward him. Surveillance video captures a student riding on a bike. Called to the witness stand, that student tells the jury he remembers seeing Dzhokhar near the car. "I just laughed actually. I thought I startled him. I just kept going," says Nathan Harmon. Moments later, someone on campus reports loud noises, the shots less than an hour after Sean Collier sees MIT's police chief one final time.

"I chatted with him for a few minutes. I told him to be safe and I left."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (on camera): It's difficult to make out some of the details in that surveillance video which captures the time at which Sean Collier was shot. But prosecutors have said it doesn't matter which brother pulled the trigger; they say the two brothers acted together. They planned this together. They carried it out together. And for that reason alone, Carol, they say that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be held accountable for it.

COSTELLO: All right, Alexandra Field, reporting live from Boston, thank you.

We are awaiting the St. Louis County police chief to speak out about those two officers shot and wounded in Ferguson overnight. We're on the ground in Missouri. I'll be back after a break.

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COSTELLO: All right, good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks for joining me.

Let's go right to St. Louis and the chief of police of St. Louis County, Jon Belmar, talking about these two officers who were wounded in Ferguson last night.

CHIEF JON BELMAR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE: -- of the St. Louis County Police Department, the Webster Groves Police Department. I really thank all of law enforcement, to officers and family of officers that were shot last night.

So about 5:30 last night, Chief Thomas Jackson announces his resignation. And we began to see protesters gather at the Ferguson Police Department. I started tracking this about 8:01 last night. I got a call from my staff saying we expect protesters on the parking lot. We think there's going to be further protesters on the parking lot. I called my staff and I said, listen, I want this like we always do this. I want this to be a very measured response by the police department. By that, I mean the St. Louis County Police Department, because the Ferguson Police Department is right now back in control of the City of Ferguson. I actually kind of stayed in touch with this until about 10:30 last night, went to bed and I was woke up about midnight with the news.

At about 8:15 last night, protesters started blocking South Florissant Road in front of the PD. Ferguson called a code 1000, which means the closest 25 cars that could be available to assist them, at 8:27. Approximately 150 protesters were located in the roadway. Fifteen police officers on the scene. At 9:00, Ferguson makes one arrest of a protester in the roadway on the charges of failure to comply, being in the roadway, endangering the welfare of a child, and resisting or interfering with arrest. Protesters leave the roadway.