Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Caroline Kennedy Facing Death Threat in Japan; Hostage Situation in Tunisia; Netanyahu Declares Victory in Israel; Frat Suspended Over Secret Facebook Page; Prince Charles and Camilla Arrive in DC. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired March 18, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: "NEWSROOM" with Brianna Keilar in for Carol Costello.

[09:00:03] Good morning.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And what a sweet story. I love that, you guys.

PEREIRA: Thank you.

KEILAR: All right. You guys have a wonderful day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KEILAR: Good morning, I'm Brianna Keilar in for Carol Costello. And we begin with breaking news.

New death threats against Caroline Kennedy. Japanese police now investigating. According to the Associated Press, the threatening phone calls are not only targeting Kennedy, who is the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Another American envoy also facing threats.

And the news arrives at an unsettling time. First Lady Michelle Obama arrived this morning in Tokyo. And the U.S. ambassador to South Korea still nursing wounds from a knife attack just a couple of weeks ago.

We want to cover all of the angles and we have Michelle Kosinski. She's at the White House for us. We have CNN's Anna Coren in Hong Kong and here in Washington we have former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes.

So, Michelle, to you first. How seriously is the White House and the State Department treating these reported threats?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that they're taking it seriously as they have any threats or any security concerns concerning ambassadors over the last few months with the other incidents we've seen, most recently the attack of the U.S. ambassador to South Korea earlier this month. But on this case, I mean, it's interesting because these death threats

that happened by phone from an English-speaking man to the embassy in Tokyo happened last month allegedly. But we're only now hearing about this starting in the Asian press. So the White House is not confirming these threats. Neither is the National Security Council. Neither is the U.S. embassy, although we are expecting to hear something soon from the U.S. State Department.

But these threats by this man allegedly were threatening the life of Caroline Kennedy as well as a U.S. consul general also in Japan, although based in Okinawa.

Also we don't expect these threats to affect the travel or the schedule of the first lady who's going to spend the next two days in Japan -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes.

And, Tom, I mean, when you look at this, and you're hearing about threats, and it's coming out through the media, is this something that, with your law enforcement background, that you would treat very seriously?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, they'll treat it extremely seriously even though it was a month ago and doesn't seem to be related in any way to the visit of the first lady, you know, in terms of the timing. But, you know, the Japanese police were working on this and U.S. embassy personnel would, of course, be working on it. The officers from diplomatic security, the regional security office and the FBI office in Tokyo.

So the fact that this was actually leaked by apparently a Japanese police official to a Japanese newspaper and that that's how that got out. But I should add that these kind of threats are very common all the time all over the world, and it's just the world that we live in now that a number of these phone threats come in and I think this one, the fact that it got into the media, you know, heightens the alert for it and because of the attack in South Korea last month.

KEILAR: And, you know, Anna, you're covering sort of the region right now. You have Michelle Obama in Japan right now. Not just Michelle Obama but American officials, Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, how overall are they seen in the region? Do we -- do you think that we should say there may be some sort of trend or dissatisfaction with American figures or is this really not something that we should read into?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, I think it's fair to say that everyone very much on heightened alert because of what happened to Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea. That attack on him earlier this month where he was slashed by a crazed South Korean man, sustaining 80 stitches to his face and arm, really rattled everybody in the region.

And now to learn that Caroline Kennedy, 57-year-old woman who's been in the job for 16 months as U.S. ambassador to Japan, has received these death threats, I think it is a concern to officials in the region. So understandably this is being taken very seriously.

Our staff in Tokyo obviously working the phones, their contacts there, to try and gather more information. Details very scarce. Understand Tokyo police refusing to comment. As Michelle mentioned, the U.S. embassy refusing to confirm or deny about the claims due to security reasons, but we are hearing that the U.S. State Department will issue a statement about this. But, yes, certainly, everyone very much concerned about what is going on.

KEILAR: Yes. And we'll be waiting for that statement.

Tom, as you -- as you look at the threats in the region, concern for U.S. ambassadors.

[09:05:03] Some wondered in the case of the ambassador to South Korea if perhaps he should have been better kept away or the man who ended up slashing him and appeared to have certainly a history of his beliefs, that he should have been better protected.

Do you think it's time to reassess the security of U.S. ambassadors abroad and specifically in this region?

FUENTES: I think State Department and diplomatic security are assessing those threats and, you know, the interesting thing here is that it's other regions where the threats are probably much higher than here. The embassies in the Middle East, the embassies in North Africa and some of the other places where, you know, we have very active terrorist organizations operating. You know, the attack in South Korea was a South Korean with, you know, a desire to support North Korea so it was more of a local political matter.

And who the person is in Tokyo or in Japan making these threats, you know, we don't know yet so we'll have to see what that's about. But threats against U.S. -- you know, the ambassadors in these countries symbolize U.S. good, bad, and otherwise around the world. And they're going to be, you know, receiving these threats on a regular basis.

KEILAR: Do you think, Tom, that this at all impacts security on the first lady's trip or is this just another thing that the Secret Service deals with?

FUENTES: Well, I think both. I think they would have intense security either way, but certainly it heightens the alert. And then the worry now isn't just whoever this person was that was making the threats, but now because this is out in the media, that the -- you know, the effort of copy cats, let's say. Somebody else might think -- who may not have even known the first lady was coming to Japan, who might not have even known anything about this, might decide what a great idea.

I'll give you a real quick example. In 2005 an individual in Tbilisi, Georgia, wanted to kill the U.S. ambassador and then changed his mind when he heard President George Bush was coming and attempted to kill him.

KEILAR: Yes -- no, I remember that. Years ago but an important example.

Tom, thanks so much for your insight.

Anna, Michelle, thanks to both of you. We know the story is developing and that you two are working it. We appreciate it.

Now to a new security threat that's at the White House. A piece of mail apparently hiding in envelope laced with the poison cyanide. The package was received Monday at a mail sorting facility and it's worth noting that facility is not located on the grounds of the White House. It's a secret facility. And the first tests were negative for biological threats like anthrax but then later chemical testing showed that it was positive for cyanide. And now there are even more tests underway.

According to the Web site Intercept the return address is tied to a man who has sent many packages to the White House since 1995. They include one package that was covered in urine and feces and another package containing miniature bottles of alcohol.

Now we're also monitoring a breaking situation in Tunisia. We're getting reports that eight people are dead after an attack near Tunisia's parliament building. Tunisia's Interior Ministry confirms to CNN that a hostage situation is underway calling the attackers Islamists.

Let's get right now to CNN's Atika Shubert. She is live this morning from London.

Catch us up, Atika. What's the latest?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. We've just confirmed, as you pointed out, the Interior -- spokesman for the Interior minister saying it is a hostage situation ongoing. Eight people have been killed in the Bardo National Museum. That is believed to be a number of foreign tourists, possibly also some locals among them.

It appears that the Bardo National Museum may have been targeted in part because it's right next to Tunisia's parliament building in Tunis. It's all part of the parliament complex. The two buildings are connected by a hallway and a courtyard.

It's not clear exactly where the gunmen -- the shootings started. A number of parliamentarians were immediately evacuated from the area. But at some point it does seem as though the gunman entered the national museum and appeared to have -- still now have hostages.

What we understand from the Interior -- local reports from the Interior minister as well is that there are believed to be two gunmen at this point, both armed with AK-47s. There are also reports of an explosion heard earlier in the day so it's all very fluid at the moment. The situation is still ongoing. But it looks like there are at least eight people killed in the attack and also a number of people wounded, evacuated to the nearby hospital -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And still an ongoing hostage situation. We'll continue to follow this with you.

Atika Shubert, thank you.

Against all odds. That's how the Israeli prime minister is describing his victory in yesterday's tight election. Despite appearing to lag in the poles unofficial numbers show Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party poised to take at least 29 seats in the Israeli parliament.

[09:10:06] Their main rival, the Zionist Union Alliance, fell short with at least 24 seats.

Let's go now to CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott live in Jerusalem.

This is a close one. And it's not completely wrapped up yet, Elise.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: It's not completely wrapped up, Brianna, but last night the prime minister was facing this election thinking he was going to lose his job. The last several days he was down in the polls. Over the last 48 hours he had done a real media blitz bending towards the right. By the time the polls closed it was neck in neck, too close to call.

Today the prime minister really seems to have a resounding victory with as many as 29, possibly 30 seats, and that really gives him a lot of options in terms of forming a coalition.

His challenger, Zionist camp leader Isaac Herzog, said this morning that he called Prime Minister Netanyahu to congratulate him on his victory. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, LABOR PARTY (Through Translator): A few minutes ago I spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him on his achievement and wished him luck, but now I would like to make it clear to the Israeli people, the challenges are the same challenges. The problems are the same problems.

Nothing has changed, therefore Tzipi Livni and I will continue leading the Zionist Union with force and pride and as an alternative in each and every aspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: Well, Brianna, that's got to be a very bitter pill to swallow for Isaac Herzog as we've been reporting over the last week or so. There was a real momentum that was with him. And he thought maybe he would be the next leader of Israel, but now Prime Minister Netanyahu looks like he's going to be forming a government. The problem is after this real media blitz and trying to energize the right wing base to come in and vote, now he has to build a right wing coalition.

That could be very difficult for him because he has to deliver on some of the extreme pledges that he made to this right-wing base -- Brianna. KEILAR: Yes. Key pledges there at the last minute.

Elise Labott, thank you so much for us from Jerusalem.

And still to come, a Penn State fraternity suspended for a secret Facebook page. Posts allegedly showing hazing, drug use, highly inappropriate pictures. So why no charges?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:57] KEILAR: New reports exposing shocking behavior at fraternities across the country.

The University of Houston has suspended its chapter of Sigma Chi following allegations of hazing. The school says it has also suspended five members of the frat and that it may seek to expel any student responsible for hazing.

And then, at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, authorities are investigating a series of swastikas that were painted on the walls of a Jewish fraternity house this past weekend. Police say they are treating the incident as a hate crime.

And at Penn State University, members of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity could be facing criminal charges, pardon me, after the discovery of a clandestine Facebook page. It allegedly features pictures of women, some of them naked, some apparently passed out, as well as incidents of hazing and drug use. The fraternity has already been suspended but this investigation is far from over.

Let's bring in CNN's Sara Ganim. She's following this story.

These are the details we're learning, Sara, are terrible. Women very much victimized at the university.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna.

More than just the bad behavior we've been hearing about a fraternity, this could actually be criminal. Police are now investigating the Penn State chapter of Kappa Delta Rho after a former member of that fraternity tipped them off that there was a secret invitation-only Facebook page where members were posting photos of women who were nude and appeared to be passed out, but they did not know that these pictures were being posted of them.

I want to show you some of these pictures. Of course, we have blurred them out but just so that you have an idea of what they look like. Some of them in the photos they appear to be posing like this one, but in this one here you see someone who is clearly passed out.

There are several photos where women are naked, appear to be asleep or passed out and these pictures of them were posted with derogatory comments from the fraternity members who were members of this group posted below. There's also some photos police tell us of elicit drug sales. There's some hazing-related photos where you see the bare behinds of fraternity brothers and they're posing for the camera. These are just some of the examples.

Now, police at the moment are trying to identify the people who were members of this group. Facebook has taken down this page, but police now want to know who these 144 people are and they're also asking the women who think that they might have been victimized to come forward.

Now, something interesting here, Brianna. This is actually the second version of this page. A woman had found herself on this page and threatened the fraternity in the past. This is what police tell me. They took down their original page and then started over and one of the alum just thought this was too much and he alerted police.

Now, the fraternity was swiftly suspended for a year by Penn State University. I want to tell you what Penn State had to say when they were suspended.

They issued a statement here, "This action is being taken in response to the chapter allegedly hosting a Facebook page where highly inappropriate photographs were posted of activities that are in direct violation of the standards and values of a recognized student organization at Penn State. The evidence offered by the Facebook postings is appalling, offensive and inconsistent with the university community's values and expectations -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So this Facebook page, Sara, was the 2.0 they called it.

GANIM: Right.

KEILAR: You mentioned the first Facebook page that a woman complained about because she found out there were photos on there. So, did she take it up with the fraternity? She didn't report it to any school official or law enforcement?

GANIM: That's right. She took it up to the fraternity. This is according to police document. She threatened them. She said, take this page down and they did.

But then they started over again. And, really, it took one of their own. Police would never have been able to see it or get into it without this tipster. And the tipster was a former member who was still part of the group, and was able to take screen grabs of the Facebook page and then bring them to police.

[09:20:01] So, now the challenge for police -- the reason I think that you don't see criminal charges at this point, a couple of things. They haven't identified the people. The police told me that some of the names on Facebook, the user names were actually nicknames. So they haven't identified the perpetrators.

But also they're working with Facebook to retrieve the evidence and save it because they only have what was grabbed in these screen shots. So, they're still investigating.

The reason we know about it is because of a search warrant. Police issued a search warrant so they can gather all of this evidence. And, of course, yesterday made a plea to the public and to the women who think they might be photographed and victimized by this page to come forward, so that they can start to build a case and see if this really was criminal -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. All right. Sara Ganim, thank you so much for giving us all the latest details on that.

We want to dig a little deeper now on the story. I'm bringing in Sam Janesch to talk to us. He's the editor-in-chief of Penn State's student-run newspaper, "The Daily Collegian".

So, Sam, your paper's ed board recently wrote an opinion about the incident. This is what it said, quote, "Sexual assault, racism, hazing, these behaviors aren't just limited to fraternities. Whenever a situation like this occurs in Greek life, we are quick to say it isn't solely a fraternity problem. But the fact that these vile actions continue to occur in Greek life, in organizations that are supposed to social groups, to build better men and women, says something and it calls for action."

So what type of action are we talking about here, Sam?

SAM JANESCH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE DAILY COLLEGIAN: I think that's kind of the question at this point. I mean, you've seen these kind of Greek organization incidents happen almost every semester at Penn State and nationwide. I think this time, it's necessary almost for the administration to come and make a stance or look further into it in some way.

We've seen them take a step for other major incidents including sexual assault where they just completed a task force recommendation that took six months. Maybe something like that is necessary for those kind of incidents.

KEILAR: I don't want to compare apples to oranges here because it isn't the same. But most recently we've seen the SAE fraternity at the University of Oklahoma in the news for that racist chant. This is obviously a different kind of incident here.

But in the case of Oklahoma, we saw groups protesting. We saw students speaking out. What are you hearing students saying and are you seeing any real vocal protest of this?

JANESCH: I don't think we've seen any vocal protests in the same way as those other places at this point. I think people are talking about it. I think that initial shock is still in place. People are just extremely disgusted by the alleged actions of this fraternity and I think at this point most people are waiting to see what these investigations will come out with.

KEILAR: Yes. We're really just partway through this.

All right. Guys, thanks so much. Sam Janesch, Sara Ganim, thanks to both of you.

And still to come, the race for the White House is taking shape. We know that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic front-runner, but a new poll reveals who has the best chance of challenging her from the GOP.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:44] KEILAR: Royalty arriving here in the U.S. Prince Charles and Camilla stepping on to American soil last night, in our nation's capital. This is the first stop for them in the four-day trip. The couple visiting the Lincoln Memorial. Just in about half an hour now. Now, after that, let the whirlwind tour begin.

Stops today at the beautiful MLK Memorial, as well as Mount Vernon outside of Washington, D.C. They've got the Magna Carta, the Shakespeare Theater. You know what, that is all before afternoon tea.

Royal correspondent Max Foster is in London, tracking their trip.

They're staying pretty busy, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, afternoon tea. You have time for that wherever in the world you are.

It is a busy trip. The highlight will be tomorrow when they meet President Obama and Joe Biden at the White House. That ought to be interesting and always a highlight of these tours.

But what they're trying to do is emphasize these ties between the U.K. and U.S. So, going along and seeing the Magna Carta is part of that and really just sort of emphasizing that there are these great ties.

Prince Charles is telling the media the other thing he wants to encourage whilst he's over there is sustainability. So, knowing where your food comes from. He is a genuine pioneer in organic farming on his estate. He wants to take that message to the U.S. and talk a bit about formation. So, working on behalf of the government to do that.

KEILAR: Yes, boosting that very special relationship as it's called. Max Foster, we know that you'll be watching every move. And it sounds like they're going to be around quickly. All right. Thanks, Max.

President Obama on tour today, but his is a little bit more of a business trip. He's heading to Cleveland to talk about middle class economics. We'll have a live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)