Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Hillary Clinton Announces 2015 Presidential Run; Clinton Kicks Off Campaign in Iowa; Senator Marco Rubio of Florida Enters GOP Race Today; "Active Shooter" Situation At NC College; Audio Captures Aftermath of Shooting; Iran Charges WaPo Bureau Chief with Spying. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired April 13, 2015 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00] PEREIRA: For "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.
See how we shared that today, Carol?
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: Another lady fire.
(CROSSTALK)
PEREIRA: Did you see that? Togetherness.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And it looked so well rehearsed, too.
PEREIRA: Didn't it?
CAMEROTA: Didn't it seem like that?
PEREIRA: Yes, I thought so.
COSTELLO: It did. Thanks, guys. Have a nice day.
NEWSROOM starts now.
Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the candidate who goes by one name hits the campaign trail for a second time. Oh, yes, it's Hillary. Populist, family based and targeting women, women, women. This morning the new video and the fire from the right.
Also ahead, North Charleston bracing for mass demonstrations today. New calls for citizens to pull out their cameras in front of officers and say, we are watching you.
And a "Washington Post" reporter sits in a Tehran jail for nine months and waits four months for a judge to hear his case. Now he's charged with espionage. What's the paper doing about it this morning?
We'll talk about it, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. For Hillary Clinton the question never seemed to be if she would run, but when. That answer came Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion. So you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead. And stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now facing the first full day of her new campaign she is on the road and in the flesh. Greeting surprised motorists at a gas station in Pennsylvania. It was a pit stop on the 1,000 mile drive to her first event in Iowa.
Later today, Senator Marco Rubio tries to wrestle away the political spotlight with his own announcement. He will become the third Republican to formally join the race and what is sure to be a jam- packed GOP field.
We're covering both candidates and their star power impact on an election that's still a year and a half away. But let's begin our coverage with CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar on the Clinton campaign.
Good morning.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. Hillary Clinton as we speak on her way to Iowa in the van that she jokingly calls the Scooby van as she tries this very down-to- earth launch of her campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm getting ready for a lot of things. We're moving. Just so she can belong to a better school.
KEILAR (voice-over): Hillary Clinton announcing her presidential campaign with a video of Middle Class Americans.
CLINTON: I'm getting ready to do something, too. I'm running for president.
KEILAR: Clinton outlined her campaign message, a populist family based rationale for her candidacy.
CLINTON: Everyday American needs a champion. And I want to be that champion.
KEILAR: Her announcement quite different than her 2007 pitch.
CLINTON: I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation.
KEILAR: This time --
CLINTON: I'm back.
KEILAR: She tries to convince voters she's not taking her dominance in the Democratic field for granted.
CLINTON: I'm hitting the road to earn your vote.
KEILAR: When she said hitting the road she was being literal. In Pennsylvania, she stopped at a gas station. A man who met the new candidate provided CNN these photos. Clinton is on her way to Iowa.
CLINTON: Together we will make history.
KEILAR: Where she lost big in 2008. Then it's on to another early state, New Hampshire, where she pulled out an unexpected win after this emotional appeal.
CLINTON: I see what's happening. We have to reverse it.
KEILAR: Ultimately, of course, she lost.
CLINTON: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
KEILAR: Republicans want to stop her from shattering that ceiling in 2016. Rand Paul's campaign launching this ad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Washington machine.
KEILAR: Jeb Bush, still undeclared, responding in advance of Clinton's video.
JEB BUSH, FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: We must do better than the Obama- Clinton foreign policy.
KEILAR: But President Obama, who brings a loyal Democratic constituency along with a potentially damaging foreign policy record, all but endorsed Clinton during his trip to Panama.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was an outstanding secretary of state. She is my friend. I think she would be an excellent president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And we have learned, Carol, that Hillary Clinton has stepped off of the board of directors of the Clinton Foundation. The bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation to avoid any conflicts and to concentrate on her campaign. But this was a bit of a surprise yesterday that she was hitting the road last night. Somewhat late in the evening we started to see some traffic on Twitter of people who lad spotted her, and we confirmed that with the campaign that she was, indeed, on her way. No private jet, she's on four wheels.
COSTELLO: All right. Brianna Keilar reporting live from Washington this morning. Thank you.
[09:05:02] Clinton's candidacy may be the worst kept secret of this political season. But the formal announcement set Twitter ablaze. You heard Brianna. Here's a map showing star bursts of the cities with the heaviest traffic. Clearly it erupted from coast to coast. But after being accused of acting entitled to the nomination in 2008 Clinton's road trip is designed to send a new kind of message. She's listening to voters, and is determined to earn their support this time around.
CNN's senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is in Des Moines awaiting Clinton's first campaign event in Iowa.
Good morning, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. She's supposed to be here on Tuesday and Wednesday. So no sighting yet of Hillary Clinton here in Des Moines, Iowa. The campaign is billing this as one of many opportunities for Hillary Clinton to sit down and talk about the economy with everyday Iowans, which could be very difficult for her, simply because she travels with an entourage of Secret Service, the media, and her own staff.
But clearly this will be an opportunity for her to talk to everyday Iowans. Two stops on the schedule that we know about, including one at a community college, Kirkwood Community College, which is closer to Cedar Rapids. And also Capital Fruit Company closer to Des Moines.
In any event people we talk to out on the streets here in Iowa are saying they're certainly ready to hear from Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONDE COMBE, IOWA VOTER: I really don't think that they're going to have anything to -- you know, earth-shattering to say initially. But you know, I think that she should be out talking about issues as opposed to running but not actually being in the race for a long time, so it will be interesting to get her out there and start fielding questions that are more relevant to what's really going on.
KATIE BRAUN, IOWA VOTER: Just by being here and connecting with the people. Because that's what Iowa is about. Is all of the connections that everybody has to each other. We're a small town, you know, people so be here and connect to people and just tell them what you're about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: We don't think the two events that we know about are the only things she's going to be doing once she gets to Iowa. We do expect her to have meetings with business leaders, politicians, activists, and the like. There will be bigger events, we're told, of course here. But for now, Hillary Clinton is trying to keep it small -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live from Iowa this morning.
Now let's turn to the Republican race for the White House. The rising star in the party, Senator Marco Rubio, will officially announce his bid later today in his hometown of Miami.
Here's a glimpse of a video released just before the announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: And so now I know that every chance I have ever had, and everything that I will ever accomplish, I owe to God, to my parents' sacrifices, and to the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Dana Bash is CNN's chief congressional correspondent.
Dana, good morning. You've covered Rubio on Capitol Hill.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COSTELLO: What makes him stand out?
BASH: Well, in large part what you just heard in that clip there. In fact the video that they released was kind of his greatest hits. He is known as somebody who is quite the orator. He is very eloquent. But it's not just the way he speaks, it's what he speaks about. And it's going to be in large part what you see behind me.
It's a building called the Freedom Tower, and this is the place where Cuban exiles came first. Many of them for years when they were seeking refuge in America, kind of the Cuban Ellis Island, Carol. So that's why he chose this place. It's very symbolic. And it speaks to the kind of campaign that his aides say he wants to run. A hopeful one. The idea that the next generation should feel comfortable and confident that they can do better than their parents, which was the American way of life for awhile. But not so much now.
It's kind of a much more lofty idea of this kind of granular sense that Hillary Clinton is talking about, about, you know, making people feel better about themselves especially the middle class. But I don't know that we're going to hear a lot of ideas and specifics in his platform. He's going to talk I think a lot more about the concept of what America can be.
COSTELLO: Well, it's early on in the campaign so everybody is doing the soft rollout, right? At least most candidates are.
Rubio will likely face his longtime mentor former Florida governor, Jeb Bush. So won't that be a little awkward?
BASH: Very awkward especially for the people who are very close to both of them. This is such a fascinating human drama, Carol, because Marco Rubio came up in Florida politics when Jeb Bush was the governor. The two of them have had so many public encounters when they call each other basically the greatest thing since sliced bread, talk about how wonderful one of the other is when it comes to leadership, when it comes to ability, and now you have a situation where they're running against each other.
[09:10:02] A lot of Jeb Bush's closest advisers and friends really didn't believe that Marco Rubio was actually going to take the plunge once Jeb said that he was going to -- or at least make sure that he was probably going to do so in December. And now he's doing it. And it puts a lot of Florida Republicans in an awkward spot.
But look, the dirty little secret is that Marco Rubio, Carol, he's only 43 years old. He became speaker of the Florida House when he was 34. He pushed, pushed, pushed early, maybe before his time, on paper, but it worked for him. And so he feels that he's going to continue to do that.
And you know the Senate, it's not necessarily a place, as you know, where somebody who is serious can get things done. It's very difficult these days. So what I've heard is that he feels like if it doesn't get very far he's still only 43 and he has a lot of opportunities ahead of him if this presidential thing doesn't work out and he has to leave the Senate. Because that is the rule here in Florida.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Dana -- Dana Bash reporting live from Miami, Florida, this morning.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, new audio of Officer Michael Slager moments after shooting and killing Walter Scott.
CNN's Nick Valencia live in North Charleston with more for you.
Good morning.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The community reacting to that newly released audio of Officer Slager and what he said in the immediate aftermath of the shooting death of Walter Scott.
I'm Nick Valencia in North Charleston. Details about that after the break. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
COSTELLO: All right. Some disturbing breaking news out of North Carolina at the Wayne Community College, there's been a report of a shooting.
[09:15:04] Wayne Community College is in Goldsboro, North Carolina in Wayne County. We understand one person was targeted. We believe that shooting went down in the library and authorities are still looking for the shooter.
On the phone with me right now is Daniel Wiggins. He's assistant operations manager for Wayne County.
Good morning, sir.
DANIEL WIGGINS, ASST. OPERATIONS MANAGER FOR WAYNE COUNTY, N.C. (via telephone): Good morning.
COSTELLO: Tell me in your own words, though, what you believe is happening at Wayne Community College?
WIGGINS: OK. The information we are releasing at this time is that we do have report of a shooter on the campus. One person has been shot. We do have one victim.
The suspect is still at large at this time. We have multiple law enforcement agencies on the scene working together to track him. The perimeter has been set up around the college so we make sure we keep him in that perimeter.
COSTELLO: Did the shooting occur in the library, sir?
WIGGINS: That is the call that came in that we had that it did occur in the library.
COSTELLO: Do you believe that person who was shot was targeted?
WIGGINS: Well, we're -- unknown motives at this time.
COSTELLO: Can you give us a description of who you're looking for? Is it a student? Was it someone off campus? Is there any description at all?
WIGGINS: We don't have a good description of the suspect at this time. We've had multiple different reports. So, we're unable to give out any information at this time.
COSTELLO: And when you say there's a lockdown on campus. Students are advised to stay where they are, lock their doors, that kind of thing?
WIGGINS: That is correct. Stay safe, lock your doors, barricade yourself, if you see the shooter, stay quiet, get on the floor, don't make any noises at all.
COSTELLO: Has the library itself been evacuated?
WIGGINS: We're unsure at this time. We do know we have law enforcement on scene at this time, handling the situation. So we're letting them handle any evacuations at this time.
COSTELLO: How did the call come in that there had been a shooting in the library?
WIGGINS: We have reports over the radio from a campus police officer that somebody had been shot.
COSTELLO: And did authorities storm into the library? Or was the shooter gone by the time that you guys arrived?
WIGGINS: I believe the shooter was gone by the time authorities arrived.
COSTELLO: Can you tell us whether you're looking for a male or a female?
WIGGINS: We do believe it is a male subject we're looking for, but an unknown description of that male suspect.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you so much for being with me this morning. I know it's a busy morning for you, and again the Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina, is on lockdown after a shooting that occurred in the library, and believe one person has been shot.
And as you heard Daniel say authorities are looking for one male suspect. Students again are advised to stay inside their dormitories or classrooms and be quiet. If they spot the suspect, they're advised to call authorities and not act on their own.
When we get more information on this shooting, of course, we'll pass it along.
In other news this morning, new audio surfacing captures the immediate aftermath of that deadly shooting in South Carolina. It's hard to hear, but listen to how Officer Michael Slager is speaking with another officer, moments after he shot Walter Scott.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER MICHAEL SLAGER: Well, I probably have to wait a couple days to interview -- official interview, sit down and say what happen. Finally, I get home, probably be a good idea to kind of jot down your thoughts of what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SLAGER: The adrenaline pumping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Often.
SLAGER: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I don't know if you could hear that. Hopefully you could hear it better than I.
But it appears that Officer Slager said the adrenaline was pumping. He told that to an officer taking his statement at the scene of that shooting, moments after it occurred.
CNN's Nick Valencia live in North Charleston with more on this.
Good morning.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That conversation between a senior officer, and what is reported to be
Officer Slager in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, we've reached out to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Department who is in charge of this investigation, and asked them how they would characterize that audio that you could hear Officer Slager there responding to his adrenaline pumping. This is direct quote from Tom Berry (ph) with the -- with SLED here, saying, "It was information that was discussed at the scene, it's part of the investigation."
Meanwhile here in the community, a day after a vigil for Walter Scott at the location where he was shot and killed, people continuing to question the conduct of the other officer seen in that tape, asking if perhaps he was part of a cover-up, complicit in a cover-up or if he did enough to help Walter Scott in the immediate aftermath of that shooting.
No formal charges have been leveled against anyone else other than Officer Slager. When I spoke to the mayor yesterday at that vigil, he did not know if any of those other officers seen on that tape were still on the street, but he did have some pretty choice words for Officer Slager.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[09:20:07] KEITH SUMMEY (R), NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: My heart goes out to everyone. There's a lady that's eight months pregnant. Seeing a future bright spot, you know, in their lives, and now, we've seen two families devastated. Not just the family of Mr. Scott who got shot, but the family of this police officer, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Later today, more demonstrations are planned here right behind me at North Charleston City Hall. As far as that officer, about a week after he was arrested, he remains in jail, being held without bond -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Nick Valencia reporting live from North Charleston, South Carolina, this morning.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM: after nine months in an Iranian jail, we now know what a U.S. journalist has been charged with. Brian Stelter is following that story for us.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is espionage, and the editor of "The Washington Post" just now calling the charges absurd. The statement you have to hear will be right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All right. An update now to that story out of North Carolina, Wayne Community College, sad news to report.
The victim who was shot in the library has died. That's according to authorities there. From what we understand, the campus is still on lockdown. Authorities are still looking for this lone suspect. [09:25:00] We believe it is a male.
When we get more information, of course, we'll pass it along. But please stay safe in Goldsboro, North Carolina, this morning.
In other news, a bureau chief of "The Washington Post" will go on trial soon in Iran, accused of espionage. The journalist Jason Rezaian has been held in an Iranian jail since July. But his charges were just made public last week.
Six weeks before his arrest, Rezaian spoke with Anthony Bourdain about his love/hate relationship with Iran, saying, quote, "I'm at a point now after five years where I miss certain things about home. I miss my buddies. I miss burritos. But I love it. I love it and I hate it, you know, it's home."
"The Washington Post" calls Iran's allegations of spying absurd, and the, quote, "product of fertile and twisted imaginations."
Our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter is following the latest developments for us.
Good morning.
STELTER: Good morning.
The State Department also calling these charges absurd, using the same language as "The Washington Post" editor, Marty Baron. This has gone on for nine months. It is an outrage to so many in the journalism industry because it's an example of the criminalization of journalism that we see all around the world.
This case, though, especially troubling because Jason has been a famed "Washington Post" correspondent, the Tehran bureau chief for years. That's why Anthony Bourdain sought him out when Anthony Bourdain went to Iran to do a piece here for CNN.
Jason's the kind of guy you'd want to talk to. And he would be covering all of the news about Iran lately -- the nuclear talks and all the rest if he were not behind bars.
Now, he's a dual citizen, American and Iranian. Some speculated that made it easier for the government in Iran to put him in jail. But these charges of espionage, there's absolutely no proof for them and as you mentioned, it took months to even hear what the charges were. That's what makes it all the more outrageous.
COSTELLO: Was there anything in his quote about the love/hate relationship with Iran that might have gotten him into trouble? I can't imagine what that would be.
STELTER: Some people have speculated about that. At the same time, you know, he's talking about the love, as well. Talking just the same way a reporter would talk pretty much wherever you report in the world, wherever you're a foreign correspondent. You know, I've been staying in touch with his brother Ali who said
they were hopeful that when this nuclear deal was struck earlier in the springtime here, that maybe that would mean the U.S. would be able to put more pressure on the Iranians now, to get their brother home.
We've also heard from his mother, gave a really emotional interview to Christiane Amanpour. Here's some of what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY REZAIAN, MOTHER OF U.S. JOURNALIST JAILED IN IRAN: I ask you to free my son Jason Rezaian. Jason loves Iran. He would never do anything to hurt Iran, to bring shame to Iran. I am asking that you allow me the time and the guarantee that I will be able to meet with my son and will be able to leave. I would hope with both Jason and Yeganeh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: Today, "The Washington Post" repeating their call to free Jason, let him return to his family.
COSTELLO: Brian Stelter, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
A final deal aimed at keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon is still months away. But, already, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are sharpening their knives. This afternoon, the Secretary of State John Kerry will brief the House of Representatives on the framework that was recently worked out in Switzerland.
Some on Capitol Hill are openly skeptical. You know that. The Republican Senator John McCain even called Kerry delusional and suggested the secretary was misleading the country about the deal.
That provoked this testy response from President Obama while he was in Panama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I hear some like Senator McCain recently, suggest that our Secretary of State John Kerry is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation of what's in a political agreement than the supreme leader of Iran, that's an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: McCain pounced on that comment immediately. He tweeted, quote, "So President Obama goes to Panama, meets with Castro, and attacks me! I'm sure Raul is pleased."
For his part, John Kerry is trying to stay above the fray.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think President Obama spoke very, very powerfully to Senator McCain yesterday, and I'll let the president's words stand. I also stand by every fact that I have laid out. It's an unusual affirmation of our facts that come from Russia. But Russia has said that what we've set out is reliable and accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This is far from over, of course. Tomorrow, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will take up legislation to force a congressional vote on any final agreement reached with Iran.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM: Hillary Clinton is back and ready to show Americans just why she should be the next commander in chief. But, after more than two decades of a national political stage, is a Clinton reinvention necessary to win votes? Or is it too late? We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
