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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Yemen Mosque Attacks; FBI Investigating Rep. Schock; UVA Student Case; Cold Case Connections; Robert Durst Medical Condition. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired March 20, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much.

[12:00:01] And thank you all for joining us for a very special AT THIS HOUR. Before we go, happy almost birthday.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.

And we begin this hour with the breaking news, the second time in three days, ISIS is claiming responsibility for a staggering attack. This one outside of Iraq and Syria. It is in Sanaa. It happened today. That is the turbulent capital of Yemen.

Suicide bombers struck twice, two Shiite mosques during Friday prayers. The Shiite militia that ousted Yemen's president in January says at least 120 people are dead, more than 300 hurt. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is following the developments from Beirut.

These seem very orchestrated as though it was planned. And even in separate locations, extraordinarily similar. Nick, what else do we know?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that the death toll is now well over 100, rising, in fact doubling it seemed hours ago in one hour by itself. And hundreds injured. Hospitals in the capital of Sanaa, where these two predominantly Shia places of worship were hit during the most busy time of Friday prayer. Hospitals appealing for blood donors to come and assist with trying to treat the so many injured here.

Amongst the dead and wounded, senior clerics and political leaders from the Shia group known as the Houthis in Yemen. Now, they have been extraordinarily successful in past months sweeping across the country, gaining control. Some say because of Iranian backing, knocking out of Sanaa, the internationally recognized government, President Hadi. He's now in the south, in Aiden (ph). And it seems now today they were the target of these attacks.

Devastatingly similar to those we've seen from al Qaeda in the past in which one suicide bomber walks into the place of worship, detonates his device and then a second device detonates to kill those who rush in to assist the injured and work out what's been happening. But, as you pointed out, ISIS now, through both a statement on a website they've used in the past and an audio message that appears very similar to previous statements of responsibility, ISIS saying that their bombers were behind it.

And there's a big problem with this claim of responsibility because ISIS is not known to be particularly capable in Yemen. Yes, ISIS' leader, Omar - I'm sorry, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi has accepted the pledge of allegiance from people who wanted to join ISIS from Yemen but there weren't thought to be many more than dozens in number. This attack, though, so shockingly blood thirsty, so sectarian in its nature that many analysts of al Qaeda in Yemen are wondering if it's really from their playbook and many in Yemen deeply worried that the spiral into violence is now gaining an ugly sectarian nature after this attack.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Nick, before I let you go, I also want to mention there's a third explosion as well and it's about 180 kilometers, just about 111 miles northeast of Sanaa. And this apparently at a government compound. Apparently two people seriously - sorry, two people dead and a third person seriously hurt. If you could help to give us a reminder of the Shiite Hothies, who just cave to power effectively in Yemen, and this battle against the Sunni ISIS members, if in fact their claim is accurate, and why this is so critical for America, this region and its instability and this country in particular and its instability, why this is such a problem for America.

WALSH: Well, that third blast in the north targeting it seemed a Houthie compound, potentially where its leadership were, it's not so successful in terms of number of lives it took. But the key issue here is the Houthies, backed by Iran, have swept out the international government. They're finding themselves clashing against Sunni tribes a lot around the country. And those Sunni tribes often find themselves allied with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a key target on the U.S. counterterrorism list. That's why the U.S. have had drones flying in Yemeni airspace for years now. That's why they have such a vital counterterror program that was significantly damaged by the Houthi takeover in Sanaa that we witnessed in January. That caused the U.S. embassy to close. And whatever the U.S. says about their continued capabilities there, the fact that they no longer have a diplomatic presence must have severely hobbled that too.

The British have gone. Many other western governments pulling out from that area too. So an extraordinarily fast spiral, frankly, in towards chaos in Yemen. The remnants of government really on their back foot right now and that provides a breathing space for al Qaeda certainly. Remember, they are still the ones who claim the attacks against the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine in Paris just earlier on this year. Now it seems ISIS wants to be in the game too, so to speak. They're claiming this. That's not the same as having actually necessarily done it, but it shows extremists are now finding more of a foothold here in Yemen because that government, frankly, is in tatters.

[12:05:13] Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Well, if there's anything extremists like in terms of being able to incubate, it's chaos, and that certainly is what it looks like in the region you're reporting on. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for that. Nick watching that story for us. He'll continue to update us throughout the day.

In the meantime, elsewhere, Tunisia, it's independence day. But this year's observance is equal parts pride and equal parts anger and grief over what happened on Wednesday. That horrifying massacre at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, the capital. Security officials now say two gunmen, who were among 23 people killed that day, had been trained on their weapons in Libya, the country right next door. They were also carrying explosives, although no bombs went off. Police saying they got to them before they could detonate and do more damage. Most of the victims were foreign tourists from two cruise ships, both of which returned today to Spain. The problem is, 15 bodies still remain in a morgue in Tunis waiting to be identified as they are apparently foreign victims.

There's breaking news as well now on a scandal that already cost a U.S. congressman his job. We are learning this morning that federal prosecutors, yes, the feds, are investigating this man, Aaron Schock, a Republican up and comer from Illinois, who abruptly and surprisingly resigned on Tuesday. CNN's justice correspondent Evan Perez is on the story.

I'm trying to figure out what came first. Were the feds watching him and that tipped off Aaron Schock and he resigned because of it, or was it the ethics worry that got Aaron Schock to resign, or did it all come at the same time or do we even know why the feds are in on this now?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Ashleigh, I think that's a very good question. We still don't know exactly what order things went. We do know that Justice Department officials were starting to monitor the press reports that were seeming to come by the day detailing what were apparent improprieties in the way Representative Schock was documenting all his campaign expenses.

And so these - this was something that we know now, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS and prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in central Illinois have now all begun looking at. And, of course, reporters here in Washington had started documenting some of these alleged improprieties, including the way he accounted for mileage reimbursements for vehicles for his campaign, whether he properly accounted for donations from major donors and contributions, and also whether he misspent -- whether he misspent money taking out some of his campaign staff to concerts.

BANFIELD: Oh, and then there's this little nugget. He was reimbursed for about 170,000 miles on his personal car, and yet when the car was sold, it only had 80,000 miles on it. Some people might look at that as kind of small potatoes. That's not what the feds are interested in, or is it?

PEREZ: Well, it all - it all - it all involves that. It begins with that but it also includes some of his other campaign expenses. I think this is only the beginning of this. And, you know, we haven't heard much from him. He said he was going to appoint a team to go over his campaign expenses. But we have heard from his father, Ashleigh, and here's what he had to say when asked about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RICHARD SCHOCK, REP. SCHOCK'S FATHER: I know Aaron. I know Aaron's heart. I know Aaron wants to do what's right. Aaron resigned because he doesn't want to bring defamation to the Congress. He doesn't want to bring defamation to his supporters in town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ: And, Ashleigh, that - this is now obviously now the congressman who made a name for himself as being one of the youngest -- he got to Congress in his 20s, if you remember.

BANFIELD: Yes.

PEREZ: And now he's going to be one of the first members of Congress, you know, born in the 1980s who's now under investigation by the feds.

BANFIELD: Oh, my God, I think my career is older than he is. That's unbelievable.

PEREZ: I know, believe me.

BANFIELD: Evan Perez, thank you. Oh, you do not know that. You're supposed to say, oh, I never knew. I would never have known.

PEREZ: Well, no, I mean - I'm talking about me.

BANFIELD: Evan Perez, thank you for that. Keep us posted and let us know what developments come from the feds, if they ever share any of their investigative information.

PEREZ: Thanks.

BANFIELD: Appreciate it. Have a good weekend, Evan.

[21:09:56] Coming up, we certainly know there was a heck of a lot of blood on the photograph, but was it as a result of police brutality, or was it a college student who had too much to drink? We're going to get the student's side of the story, next.

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BANFIELD: We're getting some conflicting accounts today of what it was that led up to the bloody arrest of University of Virginia student Martese Johnson. If you haven't yet seen the video or the pictures associated with this story, I do want to give you this warning, they are graphic. He needed 10 stitches after officers at the Department of Alcohol Beverages Control, or ABC, arrested him. This is what it looked like. The 20-year-old had been turned away from a bar, according to police, and according to the arrest warrant he was, quote, "agitated and belligerent." He was detained for public intoxication and then also obstruction of justice without violence. Johnson's attorney is giving a more detailed account of their version and standing alongside Johnson he tried to clear up some of the misconceptions. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL WATKINS, ATTORNEY FOR MARTESE JOHNSON: Martese was standing on the sidewalk near Trinity Irish Pub in Charlottesville. An employee of the establishment approached him and asked him for identification. Martese presented a valid Illinois state identification card issued in 2011. The employee then asked Martese for his zip code and he recited his mother's Chicago city zip code at her current address, which is different than the Chicago city zip code on the identification card that was printed almost four years ago. At no time throughout the encounter did Martese present as - excuse me, at no time throughout the encounter did Martese present, as has been reported as some in the media, a fake I.D.

[12:15:03] Nevertheless, Virginia ABC officers who were present on the scene questioned my client about being in possession of false identification. The conversation resulted in my client being thrown to the ground, his head hitting the pavement, the officer's knees pressed into his back, his face and skull bleeding and needing surgery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Our Nick Valencia is live in Charlottesville, Virginia, on this story for us.

So where are we with the investigation, because the state wants answers?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. The governor wants answers. University officials want answers. Not to mention students here, Ashleigh.

We know yesterday, Thursday afternoon, Virginia State Police launching a criminal investigation. They call it a comprehensive one into the conduct of the officers involved in the arrest.

Meanwhile, here on campus, the dialogue surrounding what happened to Martese Johnson, well, that's still ongoing. At 1:00 p.m. there is expected to be a town hall forum hosted by university officials, as well as local law enforcement officials. People here on campus that you talk to, they're not only shocked that this happened, but they're shocked that this happened specifically to an individual who has seemingly endless ties to the university. He's very involved. And even before this incident, Ashleigh, he was seen as a prominent leader here on campus who's spoken about these types of issues in the past.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Nick Valencia, keep us posted. As the developments come, so will maybe some answers to what exactly happened there. Nick Valencia for us live. Thank you for that. Millionaire Robert Durst, charged with one murder, suspected in two

others. And this may be just the beginning. Does this police sketch from another cold case look eerily familiar? Do they seem similar? How many more deaths might have a Durst connection and the feds are on it. That's coming next.

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[12:20:18] BANFIELD: Well, now that millionaire Robert Durst is locked up and charged with murder, federal investigators are dusting off old evidence on the off chance that they can connect Durst to other crimes potentially. And the FBI wants to look at some cold cases in places where Durst lived over the years. Places like Vermont and New York state and San Francisco. And there is no shortage of those cold cases. And like that picture that you just saw being compared, a couple of possible connections to Mr. Durst himself. CNN's Dan Simon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Louisiana authorities have Robert Durst on suicide watch, the FBI is putting out a call to local police departments to examine cold cases where Durst lived over the past 50 years. The wealthy real estate heir has a reported net worth of $100 million and lived or owned property in several states, including New York, Vermont, Texas, and California.

CHIEF ANDREW MILLS, EUREKA, CALIFORNIA POLICE: We are certainly interested in any information that may or may not come out of interviews with Mr. Durst. If information comes to us that allows us to further our investigation, we will certainly take the opportunity to do that.

SIMON: One case that has peeked interest is in a small northern California town of Eureka. Sixteen-year-old Karen Mitchell went missing in November 1997. She was on her way to work at a day care center. According to local news reports at the time, she was seen leaning into a light blue car that she may have gotten into. A witness gave police a description of the man behind the wheel. The sketch bearing a striking resemblance to Robert Durst.

MATT BIRKBECK, AUTHOR: Durst apparently knew Karen Mitchell. Karen had volunteered at a homeless center in Eureka, which Durst had frequented, which he had a habit of doing in these different cities. In addition, Mitchell's aunt ran a shoe store in a mall in Eureka and Durst had gone there several times, one time dressed as a woman.

SIMON: Author and investigative reporter Matt Birkbeck wrote "A Deadly Secret," a book chronicling Robert Durst. Copies of which were found in Durst's Houston home.

In New Orleans, meanwhile, where he checked into this hotel using a fake name, court documents also reveal he had more than 40,000 in cash, mostly in $100 bills, a rubber or latex mask to disguise identity, some marijuana, and a loaded Wesson .38 revolver. A law enforcement officer telling CNN he appeared to be on the lamb and planned to travel from New Orleans to Cuba. Durst was arrested in New Orleans on Saturday and charged with the

2000 murder of Susan Berman, his friend and spokeswoman. She was killed just before New York investigators were to question her about the disappearance of Durst's first wife. The arrest coming a day before the final installment of HBO's documentary about his life when he made this alleged confession while talking to himself in the bathroom.

ROBERT DURST (voice-over): What (INAUDIBLE) did I do? Killed them all, of course.

SIMON: Durst's attorney says not to read too much into those comments and Durst himself has long denied any involvement in Berman's death and his wife's disappearance.

JIM MCCORMACK, BROTHER OF DURST'S FIRST WIFE: I was chilled and actually vindicated but chilled by the - by the open and unsolicited, you know, admission of guilt.

SIMON: That's Jim McCormack, the brother of Durst's first wife Kathie, who says he hopes Durst will finally confess to killing her and others.

MCCORMACK: I'm hopeful that he'll finally man up, tell his lawyers to bug off and he wants to have this thing over and put behind him.

SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And our Jean Casarez is in Los Angeles.

Jean, you just got off the phone with Robert Durst's attorney in Texas. This is the second conversation you've been able to have with him. And he's now talking about Robert Durst's medical condition while he's in jail. Give us the lowdown. What's he saying?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is. And they also have a comment on this cold case investigation. But first let me tell you what he just told me minutes ago.

He said that he last saw Robert Durst yesterday. That he is doing fine. That he is very engaged helping his defense. He's very aware. He's very cooperative. He said he is not a suicide risk, but he does need hospitalization.

And he said some things that we haven't known before. He said that - and we knew he had neurosurgery, because that was said in open court. Well, let me give you more information on that. He said that it was brain surgery, hydrocephalus, that is the medical condition he has, which is hydofluid in the brain. And he said that they've now shaved his head and that we should see that in the courtroom on Monday. And what was implanted, and it was not recently implanted, we also have video, I think, showing that at a court hearing last summer, but it was a stent or a tube has been implanted inside his skull. You can see it with a shaved head, though. And it allows drainage of fluid on the brain.

[12:25:12] So that is the first medical condition. The second one is, he, in the last five years, has had cancer of the esophagus. So he's a cancer survivor. And, thirdly, he had neck surgery - cervical surgery and so he does need to be in that medical ward.

BANFIELD: Well, if he's engaged in helping his defense, that kind of rules out incompetency. There it is right there.

CASAREZ: I don't think they're going there. I don't think they're going there at all.

BANFIELD: No. Without question.

CASAREZ: But they are very frustrated. They want to be in California. They say that they believe this cold case investigation is, quote, "they seem to be going to such great lengths to pin something on him. They must not have much of a case to begin with."

BANFIELD: Wow.

CASAREZ: They do not believe he'll get bail on Monday. They don't expect it. They just want to get to California.

BANFIELD: Yes, it's hard to get bail when you've jumped bail in the past and you're a felon. That's - that's tricky stuff.

All right, Jean Casarez, excellent work. Keep calling Dick DeGuerin and see if you can get any other details of this. That's just great reporter work from a lawyer herself. Thank you, Jean.

CASAREZ: Thanks.

BANFIELD: What a week this has been in the Boston bombing trial. Some of the most riveting testimony yet recounting actual hand-to-hand combat between officers and the bombers in the most intense moments of the manhunt. You're going to hear exactly how close they got, after this.

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