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Rutgers Bans Greek House Parties; Rand Paul Enters the 2016 Race; Aaron Hernandez Defense Finishes Closing Arguments. 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 07, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

REP. COURTNEY CURTIS (D), MISSOURI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: So there's a lot of opportunity. Hopefully the public will come out and will either start moving faster or we'll have to come back and do this again next year.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Have things calmed down a bit in Ferguson?

CURTIS: They have except for the flash points such as when the police officers were shot. That's typically when the media comes back and the attention goes back. But there were protesters out at a church in St. Louis on Easter. The protesters came out one time last week as well.

[10:30:13] So things aren't as regular as they were at the height of this incident but they are continuing and I think things are gearing up towards the one-year anniversary in the warmer summer months.

COSTELLO: And the final question I have is about the Ferguson Police Department. What do you suppose will happen eventually?

CURTIS: It depends on what the Department of Justice does. I personally would like for them to set an example for America that this is not to be tolerated and to disband them but all of candidates except for one virtually said that they did not that the police department should be shut down.

If that's the case, then that's going to be the leadership of the city unless there's a larger rallying cry to disband it, it will ultimately stay in place unless the Department of Justice says something different.

COSTELLO: All right. Representative Courtney Allen Curtis, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

CURTIS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Rutgers University says enough with all the drinking and partying on campus. It bans all fraternity and sorority parties. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:34:55] COSTELLO: Reports of hazing, racist chants and sexual

assaults have become the ugly face associated with college fraternities over the past few weeks. And now in the wake of several alcohol-related incidents including one student's death, Rutgers University is banning all fraternity and sorority house parties for the remainder of the semester.

CNN's Sara Ganim live in Philadelphia with more on this -- good morning.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. That's right. 86 different fraternities and sororities on Rutgers campus now suspended from having any alcohol-related event for the rest of the year. It's about three more weeks.

This is after seven different Greek organizations came under investigation for alcohol-related incidents since the beginning of the year that included one fraternity where a woman -- a female student, Caitlin Kobach (ph), 19 years old, died of alcohol poisoning after a party at Delta Kappa Epsilon in September. About six weeks later 20- year-old member of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon was hospitalized for -- after drinking at a party there.

That fraternity was just us suspended a few weeks ago in March. For the rest of the year and then this week Rutgers shut it all down. They said look, alcohol related social events for the rest of the year for all 86 fraternities and sororities on campus.

Now both of those fraternities that I mentioned, Delta Kappa Epsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon have been suspended in addition to this social ban on the rest of the university fraternity. I want to read for you what Rutgers has to say about this.

They "Say Rutgers takes seriously its commitment to maintaining a healthy and safe campus environment in light of a number of alcohol- related incidents this year involving Greek organizations, the office of fraternity and sorority affairs have placed a moratorium through the end of the semester on parties in fraternity and sorority houses. That's according to a Rutgers spokesman.

Now, I want to tell you Carol. There's a caveat to this. They can still have their end of the year formals which are pretty traditional in Greek life. And if they go to an off-campus even as them, they organize if this event they can still have a vendor and third party vendor serving alcohol -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And there's only three weeks left to the semester. Sara Ganim -- thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Rand Paul has politics in his blood. Don't call the new 2016 candidate an insider to sitting U.S. senators now going by Dr. Paul on his Twitter page. Can he convince voters he's not part of the establishment? We'll talk about that next.

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[10:41:23] COSTELLO: Rand Paul Washington outsider? That may sound strange for a sitting senator but it's how Rand Paul wants us to perceive him for his upcoming presidential campaign. His first ad branding him as a different kind of Republican, one who is ready to take on his colleagues in the nation's capital.

His announcement on his campaign website claiming he's running to return our country to the principles of liberty and limited government. And after getting the public -- after greeting the public rather today in Kentucky, Paul will take his populist pitch to several states over the next five days. But when all is said and done, will Republican voters answer the senator's call and stand with Rand?

Let's talk about that with S.E. Cupp, CNN political commentator; and Van Jones, CNN political commentator and former Obama administration official. Welcome to both of you.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hello.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Hi. Thanks for being with me. So on his Twitter handle, Rand Paul's Twitter handle, now says he's Dr. Paul, not Senator Paul. Is that an effective strategy, S.E.?

CUPP: You know, I think as you pointed out and others have pointed out, it's an attempt to distance himself from Washington but also I think it's an attempt to be the deep thinker, the intellectual in the Republican primary and position himself thusly. When Ted Cruz came out and announced his candidacy, Rand Paul's criticism of Ted Cruz interestingly was that he wasn't intellectually sort of hefty as Rand Paul presumes that he is.

So I think more than just an outsider. It's more an attempt to look like the deep thinker of the Republican Party.

COSTELLO: Ok. So he's a deep thinking eye doctor, Van. Is that effective?

JONES: Well, it could be. I mean honestly, he's a little bit incoherent in his deep thought. Let me just say on the front end, Rand Paul is going to be the most fascinating, interesting person who has a chance to be in this entire race. He has some challenges though.

Three things: He could either be just a complete maverick the way his dad was. Take a stand and hope the country comes with him or the danger is he becomes the muddle. He has a clear brand but now, he has to reach out to other people in this party. He could become a big muddle.

Or he could become a modernizer of his party. He's a gateway drug for young people and to the Republican Party and that's why a lot of Democrats are very worried about him, they're very concerned about him. They're watching his every move.

I'm excited. I think he's got a lot of weaknesses we could talk about. Right off the bat you have to say you just got now one of the most fascinating people in American politics stepping up to the plate.

COSTELLO: Ok. So he's fascinating. You also say he's rather muddled at time. I want to point out a column that S.E. wrote in the Daily News. He wrote about that you labeled Rand Paul's conservative libertarian predicament. You say quote, "The easy criticism would be that he's merely a politically expedient flip-flopper. It's worse than that. His reversals and confused rhetoric might just expose the reality that a President Rand Paul would not know how to turn theorizing into governing." End quote. So my question is, S.E. Isn't campaigning easier than governing for most candidates? Why do you Paul is a special case?

CUPP: Yes. No, I mean the campaign trail is a tough place to decide what your policies are going to be. I'm not sure that Rand Paul has completely figured out what his governing policies will be. I hope that the media avoids just the flip-flop question because he has changed his mind on a number of issues over the past year.

[10:44:56] I think the more interesting question will be why did you change your mind? Were you a libertarian who discovered that your policies, your theories, were unpalatable to a lot of people and so therefore you abandoned them or were you a libertarian who still deeply believes those things but realized over the course of a senate career that those theories were impractical. And so you adopted a more pragmatic governing philosophy.

I would hope that the media writ large, general voters but most importantly libertarians ask that question because I think it's important to know how Rand Paul, the President, would turn his libertarian philosophy into actual governing policy.

And as Van points out I think even he is confused and muddled about how he would do that. He's got to maybe it's a very quick learning curve that he's got but he has to figure that out quickly if he wants to make it through the primary and answer those questions reasonably.

COSTELLO: Van, Paul has also made this concerted effort in the last year to reach out to minority communities. He's met with community leaders after Ferguson. He's backed legislation on voting rights and revamping parts of the criminal justice system. Effective strategy? Will it resonate?

JONES: Look, I think it will certainly on the front end. Republicans have a very tough branding issue when it comes to people of color in a sense that they are not in touch. They don't care about some of these communities.

I think Rand Paul has been the big exception to that over the past couple of years. He started off on a very bad foot saying he wouldn't have supported Dr. King on the Civil Rights Bill. That shocked a lot of people and I think that kind of forced him to really look at how he could relate better. And he had spoken out about criminal justice reform and a lot of issues. I think there are other issues though that for young progressives once they look behind that initial foray, they are going to be concerned. He's rabidly anti- choice. He's even against a woman's right to choose when it comes to rape and incest. That's going to be off putting for a section of young people.

Also, when it comes to things like war and peace, he came across initially as someone who was very, very strong about keeping young people out of wars. He's waffled on that. But this is not going to be an easy candidate for either side to deal with because he's so unusual in the mix of views that he has and he has tried to reach out and help that Republican branding problem. I think it has been effective when it comes to young people of color.

COSTELLO: We'll see what he says later today in Kentucky. S.E. Cupp, Van Jones -- thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, closing arguments happening right now in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. Susan Candiotti brings us the latest developments next.

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[10:50:00] COSTELLO: In a matter of hours, the fate of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez will be in jurors hands. Susan Candiotti just finished making its final appeal to jurors. Susan Candiotti is following the latest developments for us. Tell us more, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. The defense just wrapping up a very impassioned plea on behalf of their client, former New England Patriot star Aaron Hernandez. Arguing that the state simply has not presented enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he orchestrated a plan to kill his friend, Odin Lloyd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Each day a traditional call to order. After 135 witnesses stretching over nearly 11 weeks, a jury will now decide the fate of former New England Patriot star Aaron Hernandez.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The commonwealth is going to prove to you that the defendant committed the crime of murder.

CANDIOTTI: But a hard fought defense contends Hernandez would never kill his good friend, Odin Lloyd, who was dating Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of his fiance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:L He was planning a future, not a murder.

CANDIOTTI: There's a mountain of circumstantial evidence from the crime scene; an isolated pit in an industrial park where Lloyd's bullet riddled body is found. Experts testify a marijuana blunt with DNA from Hernandez and Lloyd put them both at the spot. A tire on Hernandez's rental car is consistent with tracks in there too. A shoe impression in the dirt comes from the same kind of sneaker he is seen on video wearing that night. In each case, the defense attacks those findings.

JAMIE SULTAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You can't tell, sir, can you, that that outsole pattern made that impression, can you, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors tried to prove this grainy home security video minutes after Lloyd is killed shows Hernandez holding a Glock.

KYLE ASPINWALL: In my opinion the firearm shown in the video stills is a Glock pistol.

CANDIOTTI: But the defense argues that's no Glock. Maybe an iPad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have white glows to them, do they, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they do not.

CANDIOTTI: The murder weapon is still missing. Does Hernandez's fiance Shiana Jenkins throw it throw it out? She gets immunity and testifies Hernandez told her to ditch a box inside this black trash bag from the basement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The defendant called you and said it was important that you go down and get this box and get rid of it, is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe so.

CANDIOTTI: on cross she says she smells marijuana inside that bag. What may be harder to challenge is video of Odin Lloyd getting into a car with Hernandez and his two friends. The same car going into that dark industrial park and three minutes and 40 seconds later, reappearing and then driving back to Hernandez's driveway without Lloyd.

A show-stopping witness Hernandez's former boss Patriot's owner Robert Kraft who met privately with his tight end two days after the murder.

ROBERT KRAFT, OWNER NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: And that he hoped that of the murder incident came out. Because I believe he said was not involved.

CANDIOTTI: Yes, evidence shows Hernandez was not at a club that night and raises the question how would he know the time of the murder when it was not yet made public? Throughout the trial, Hernandez is laser sharp during the proceedings barely glancing at victim Odin Lloyd's family there every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:55:07] CANDIOTTI: And I have to tell you, Carol, that many of the jurors were leaning forward in their seats listening to every word that this defense attorney presented to them. And lawyers saying that even if you accept that that was a Glock in his hand, he said, let's say it was, it doesn't prove it was its murder weapon.

And saying that, look, maybe Aaron Hernandez was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, a 23 year old, what did he do after that murder took place? He just kept walking moving one step ahead at a time not knowing what to do but he said it's not enough to just say that someone is present in order to convict them of first-degree murder. It must be proven that he actively participated in the plot.

Carol, it's going to be tough and the prosecutors go next. They get the final word.

COSTELLO: Yes. And it will be interesting. They can't say anything about motive because throughout this long trial there have been no hint of why Aaron Hernandez would have killed Odin Lloyd.

CANDIOTTI: The defense really played that up. They said that murder motive is murky if there was one. Why would he have killed his friend? And the defense attorney said the prosecutors really haven't offered a clear motive and the fact is they haven't. Only that he was angry at Lloyd about something. However, it is not legally required to prove a motive and that's what the prosecutors will be saying.

COSTELLO: All right. Susan Candiotti -- thank so much. I appreciate it.

Keep it right here on CNN. Our special report "DOWNWARD SPIRAL: inside the case against Aaron Hernandez" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" after a break.

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