Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

2016 Candidates; Stocks Mixed; Ghani Visits U.S.; ISIS Recruiting in Afghanistan; Police Report Expected on UVA Gang Rape Case; Tsarnaev Trial Goes Digital. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 23, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: He's for a 23 percent national sales taxes. He proposes slashing corporate taxes.

[09:30:00] His first two bullets on his jobs plan on his website are to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to have our nation default on our debt by refusing to raise the debt ceiling. This is the mainstream of the Republican Party today. So, I mean, if this is the kind of debate we're going to have, then I'm really confident that the next --

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well --

SCHULTZ: The next president of the United States will be a Democrat.

COSTELLO: In fairness, he's kind of at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to conservative voters, at least at the moment.

SCHULTZ: Well, we'll see.

COSTELLO: Let's switch to the Democratic Party and talk about --

SCHULTZ: We'll see.

COSTELLO: Talk about Hillary Clinton because there's word this morning that Hillary Clinton will announce her candidacy in April instead of waiting until summertime. Do you think that Mrs. Clinton moved up the date because of this e-mail controversy?

SCHULTZ: You know, I think Secretary Clinton has been going through a deliberative process, as any would when they are making such a significant decision as to whether or not to run for president of the United States. And she's going to make that announcement, if she chooses to run, at the right time that is best for her so that she can make sure that she can get her message across and make it clear --

COSTELLO: Do you think the e-mail controversy played into it, though?

SCHULTZ: Oh, no. And, first of all, I mean, look, whether --

COSTELLO: Not at all?

SCHULTZ: Carol, whether Hillary Clinton or anyone else uses a private e-mail or a government e-mail will not have anything to do with voters' decision on who to cast their ballot for, for president of the United States. She's made it clear that the reason that she used a private e-mail account was to -- for purely for convenience. She followed the rules. She made sure that they were -- that her e-mails will be publicly accessible, releasing 55,000 pages of e-mails. This is not an issue. And whether she decides to run for president and when she announces it is going to be on how she can best make an impact to improve the lives of working families and help people reach the middle class.

COSTELLO: OK. On another note, "The Boston Globe" is pushing Senator Elizabeth Warren to run. They say that Hillary Clinton -- it would be good for Hillary Clinton to have some competition in the Democratic Party -- or in the Democratic primary. Your thoughts?

SCHULTZ: You know, as the chair of the Domestic National Committee, it will be my job to manage the -- our primary nominating contest. And, you know, I take Elizabeth Warren at her word that she is not running for president, not planning to run for president. And so I'm sure there's going to be, as we have had already, you know, a lot of opinion making about who should or shouldn't be in our field. We're going to have a primary. I'm fairly confident about that. And we'll have an opportunity to debate the ideas about who can best be the Democrats' best foot forward to help people climb the ladder of success and reach the middle class. And that will be contrasted with the likes of Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and Scott Walker who really have focused on taking care of the wealthiest, most fortunate Americans at the expense of the middle class. And that will be the contrast.

COSTELLO: All right. Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

SCHULTZ: You're very welcome. My pleasure.

COSTELLO: All right, to Wall Street now. The markets opened up, but we could be in for a case of the Monday morning blues. Stock futures not looking up after last week's solid gains. Business correspondent Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with more.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

A mixed start to begin on this Monday. But, you know what, what a run- up the major indices have had, especially if you look at the Dow. Some of the milestones. Last year, the Dow hit 38 record highs. Just this year, another four. Interesting, it is the Dow that gets all the love. It gets the hats showing when it hit 18,000. But not the Nasdaq. But the fact is, the Nasdaq, on Friday, came within a stone's throw of it's all-time high for the first time in 15 years. We will keep an eye on the Nasdaq today. Right now, though, it is in the red.

We're also going to be keeping an eye on Radio Shack. The company is no longer traded here at the New York Stock Exchange, but today we're going to learn its fate. A bankruptcy judge will decide between two sides on what to do with the company. One side wants to see Radio Shack's assets all liquidated. The other side is a hedge fund that says, hey, we're willing to keep half of Radio Shack stores open. We shall see what happens there. One solution could be having Sprint partner with Radio Shack and open up in those stores and sell its wireless services.

I don't know about you, Carol, I'm nostalgic for Radio Shack. Love that place for batteries and, you know, all those obscure little connectors for your television sets.

COSTELLO: You love that place for batteries?

KOSIK: Yes, batteries. You know, and you get those little connectors that you can't find anywhere else for your TV and the cables. Come on, you know what I'm talking about.

COSTELLO: You are such a nerd. Thanks, Alison Kosik.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, CNN has obtained video of a chilling ISIS recruiting session. We'll take you live to Kabul, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:28] COSTELLO: Today marks the latest chapter in the complicated and evolving relationship between the United States and Afghanistan. Ashraf Ghani, the new Afghan president, is on his first official visit to Washington, seen there on the left with Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Ghani is receiving warm welcomes from many top White House officials who see the leader as more cooperative than his predecessor Hamid Karzai. In particular, Ghani's open to a continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Here's what he told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. ASHRAF GHANI, AFGHANISTAN: The decision on the number of American troops is that up to the president of the United States and the Congress of the United States. We're very satisfied with the way the non-combat mission is shaping, but the primary duty of defending Afghanistan, securing its future, is that of the Afghan people, the Afghan soldiers, policemen and that of the Afghan government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Michelle Kosinski live at the White House this morning. Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul with an exclusive on a new ISIS recruiting tactic in Afghanistan. But I'd like to start with Michelle with Ghani's busy agenda and his visit to Washington.

Good morning.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol.

Right, this is an extremely ambitious agenda. I mean we've been told by the president's national security team that he's pretty much meeting with everybody. Everybody in the policy route, State Department, White House, civil society, you name it. And if a wide range of meetings over about four days doesn't grab you as particularly interesting, what is interesting about this is that this is supposed to be a new chapter in the relationship between the U.S. and Afghanistan. Kind of a reset. That there is a much, much different, more cooperative relationship supposedly with this new government. At least those are the signs initially and that is absolutely the goal.

[09:40:27] So what's important to the U.S. is, what kind of partner is Afghanistan now going to be in keeping that country stable, keeping terrorism at bay and keeping ISIS, of course, from gaining a stronghold in Afghanistan. I mean everybody wants to see Afghanistan not fall prey to these forces and not end up a disaster after, you know, a dozen years of U.S. involvement.

Secondly, what does this mean for the U.S. military presence there? That's what's been talked about. By the numbers, you can see right now, there are about 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. That level is supposed to continue for another year and then drop to about half to about 5,500. And then, moving forward into 2017, it would drop even further.

Well, now, we know that those numbers are under consideration based on urging by the Afghanistan leaders themselves and also the Pentagon. Thinking that, no, there needs to be a bit stronger and possibly longer U.S. presence there. And now we're hearing from national security sources, too, that even that 2017 ultimate drawdown ending number, where there would just be a minimal force, that could also be rethought to extend longer. So what it means is, more U.S. involvement. But if that is the case, hopefully that would mean ultimately more stability for Afghanistan, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Michelle Kosinski reporting live from the White House.

Let's got to Nick Paton Walsh in Kabul.

You've gotten rare and exclusive footage of ISIS recruiting members in Afghanistan?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. And it's a troubling time here. Many are concerned that as we see the U.S. put out, the Taliban is strong but they're also potentially talking police and many are worried that if the Taliban do go down a political route here, that will leave radicals in their ranks looking for a tougher ideology to follow. And we've see here how some ISIS recruiters are trying to target either poor or ideologically driven Afghans here to come and fight with them in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): Where there has long been faith and war in Afghanistan's serene hills, a new and modern plague has now come. You're seeing rare pictures filmed by our cameraman of what we are told is an ISIS recruitment session in Afghanistan.

"Brothers, I'm here to tell you," the recruiter says, "about the Mujahadeen in Syria." After a decade of war, the Taliban is strong but fractured and the U.S. is leaving. The U.N. warns ISIS is getting a foothold in Afghanistan and this may be how.

This Afghan says he's come back from fighting in northern Syria and is one of five recruiters. His pitch is simple, come fight true jihad for ISIS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for a $500 wage. Some listeners are driven.

"My aim is to fight infidels," one says, "in Syria or, if they ask me to, in Afghanistan, I will."

Others unsure and just poor.

"I definitely need the money, but will stay here and hope peace comes," one adds.

There's a bit of theater here. ISIS application forms for them to complete on camera, but also a clear message to angry young Afghans disillusioned with the Taliban's wars. There's now an even more ruthless choice you can make -- ISIS.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: A senior U.S. official was saying to me the other day they are worried and dealing (ph) great scrutiny about how ISIS is growing here, worried the potentially disgruntled Taliban might find their ideology attractive. That is the key issue here.

The U.N. say, well, they're not really worried about ISIS' capabilities here yet. It's a fighting force. More than there might be, quote, "a flagpole," as the battlefield changes here. There are so many young Afghans here without jobs, perhaps not satisfied with how the Taliban are running their side of the insurgency. A lot changing here now. The Americans potentially leaving fast and we're going to see in the days ahead, certainly at the White House, whether we see any announcements about keeping perhaps a few more American troops or capabilities here longer than previously advertised.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, police now preparing to reveal their findings, following an alleged gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity party. CNN's Rosa Flores is following that story from Charlottesville.

[09:45:01] ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. (INAUDIBLE) live in Charlottesville, Virinia, where police are expected to release the findings of their investigation involving a woman that goes by the alias Jackie, in a "Rolling Stone" article that alleges a graphic rape at a frat in UVA. Of course, news organizations poking holes poking holes into that story. What we are expecting to hear from police next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In just a few hours, we might finally learn the truth about that alleged campus gang rape at the University of Virginia detailed in "Rolling Stone" magazine last fall. Back in November, the magazine detailed the brutal assault of a female student at a fraternity party. But "Rolling Stone "later apologized for the story when discrepancies were found in their reporting and in the woman's account. They never, however, retracted the story and it remains unclear what really happened inside that house.

Soon, police will publicly discuss the results of their investigation into the controversy. CNN's Rosa Flores live in Charlottesville with more. Good morning.

FLORES: Good morning, Carol. We're expecting a press conference by police at about 2:00 p.m. today revealing their investigation. But let's not forget that's not the only investigation that's going on here. There are three different reviews. There's the police looking into those allegations, the state attorney general -- that investigation is still pending -- and then you've got the Columbia Journalism Review also reviewing the editorial process.

Let's start with police. Today at 2:00 p.m., we're expected to hear the results of these allegations, the results of their investigation. The last thing we know from police is what police told the university, the university saying police coming forward and telling them that, based on the evidence they had recovered and the evidence they had gained at that point in time, that there was no evidence that this rape had actually occurred at that frat house on the date that was alleged in that "Rolling Stone" article.

[09:50:15] Again, these are just several holes of many holes that have been poked into this story by not only CNN but other news outlets as well. Now, we have talked to students on campus, talking about what so what has been the atmosphere post the "Rolling Stone" article. And here's what one student had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY BROWN, UNIV. OF VIRGINIA STUDENT: Attitude around here has been let the investigators figure that out. In the meantime, the rest of us need to fight for this issue because whether or not every letter of it happened exactly as it was written, that doesn't change the fact that sexual assault is still a huge issue and we still need to be fighting for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, again, three different reviews -- from the police; we're expected to hear that today. From the state attorney general, that investigation is still pending. As for the Columbia Journalism Review, we're expecting "Rolling Stone" to roll out an explanation in about early April, Carol, and that of course is something that we will be watching.

COSTELLO: Of course. Rosa Flores, thanks so much. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:55:00] COSTELLO: The Boston bombing trial resumes with the digital investigation. Cross examination is expected to center this morning around Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's computer. Last week, jurors learned his laptop contained several editions of "Inspire" magazine, an al Qaeda recruitment publication. Week four could also bring an end to the prosecution's testimony.

Alexandra Field is in Boston following the trial for us. Good morning.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. For weeks, we were hearing about the physical evidence, the bombs, the bloodshed; now they've moved to that digital trial. We're hearing from an FBI agent who pored through hundreds of thousands of digital files, searching the Tsarnaev brothers' laptops, their desktops, their harddrives, their thumb drives, cell phones, iPods, just about everything they could get their hands on.

Among those hundreds of thousands of files, the prosecution focusing on a number of various elements like those al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula magazines, the "Inspire" magazines with the instructions for how to make a bomb, as well as a number of different audio recordings from Anwar al-Awlaki and other jihadist literature. There's also homework assignments in there, a paper that Dzhokhar wrote in high school about drone use. There are also -- there's also his resume in that computer in which he describes himself as hard working, responsible and a good swimmer.

Of course, the prosecution is focused on the jihadist literature, the audio recordings that they found. The defense is now getting their opportunity to cross examine this witness. This is set to take several hours as they move through their questions. And different themes that we should hear the defense hit on will be just how much of this content was on these devices? How often was it looked like? And can you really pinpoint who downloaded it or who was looking at it? Those are some of the questions defense could be already starting to ask as they move into the cross examination of this witness.

When this witness wraps, we'll also hear from a counterterrorism expert, Carol, who is being called by the prosecution. That expert witness will start to delve into content of some of those files found on those computers. Carol.

COSTELLO: When might the prosecution rest its case?

FIELD: They're actually expecting to do that sometime this week, possibly as soon as Wednesday or Thursday. They're going to spend some time today on this cross examination; they'll also hear from the counterterrorism expert. And then we understand that we'll be hearing some ballistic testimony, specifically matching the bullets found at the crime scene where Officer Sean Collier was killed on the MIT campus to the handgun that Tsarnaev was allegedly given by his friend who testified earlier in the course of the trial, Carol. COSTELLO: All right, Alexandra Field reporting live from Boston.

Thank you.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)