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Obama to Remove Cuba from State Sponsor of Terror List; Heated Exchange in Atlanta Test Score Scandal Trial; Chris Christie Hits the Road in New Hampshire; Report: Airbus A360 Could Be Hacked. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired April 14, 2015 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get you back to the breaking news. After the historic meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro in Panama, a couple of days, the handshake, the optics, the photo with President Barack Obama. We know from the administration the president just made a move to remove Cuba from the terror list. The White House breaking the news with, of course, a tweet.
Let me go to my colleague, Elise Labott, CNN global affairs correspondent.
There was a lot of talk. It was already floated out from State last week that this would be happening and now it's official.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke. The State Department made the announcement -- the recommendation last week to the president. There was a real expectation that President Obama would make this announcement of his intent to drop Cuba from the list before this historic meeting with Raul Castro. But that announcement did not happen. President Obama said he didn't have time to read the recommendation before that meeting. But clearly, the intent was to do so eventually.
I mean, this designation, Brooke, everyone I think pretty much admits it's been for last 33 years or so a real political determination. And Secretary Kerry, Secretary of State John Kerry just issued a statement just moments ago. I want to read some of it to you. "Circumstances have changed since 1982 when Cuba was originally designated as a state sponsor of terrorism because of efforts to promote armed revolution by forces in Latin America." He says, "Although the U.S. and Cuba continue to have substantial differences on a lot of things, those differences fall outside of the realm of terrorism."
So I think that now this is one of the last remaining hurdles. Certainly, there are a lot of disagreements on various policies, but one of the chief hurdles to the U.S. and Cuba formally restoring diplomatic relations, reopening embassies, paving the way for a visit by Secretary of State Kerry perhaps later this spring or even summer.
BALDWIN: Elise Labott, thank you very much.
Coming up next, talk about a heated courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia. You have these former teachers, administrators, they were sentenced to prison for this massive cheating scandal. I want you to listen to what one -- one exchange with the judge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
JERRY BAXTER, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: You sit down or I'm going to put you in jail. If you yell at me, point at me --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You can --
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Much more from Atlanta next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:36:46] BALDWIN: An historic day in Atlanta, Georgia, but one the city would probably like to forget. After a five-month trial, 10 former educators learned their punishment today for taking part in one of the nation's biggest cheating scandals ever after they were all found guilty in a scheme to inflate student test scores in order to earn bonuses or hang on to their jobs. The sentences were especially tough for three former top administrators. Here they are. Each was given the maximum sentence of 20 years with seven to be served in prison, 13 on probation, and $25,000 fine. Now five lower-ranking educators got five-year sentences with either one or two years to serve behind bars and fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Only two, two admitted guilt and took last-minute plea deals that will keep them out of prison. In exchange, they give up their right to appeal.
The judge made it crystal clear how he felt about the defendant. He and one of the defense attorneys got into a heated exchange. You have to see this from today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BAXTER: I sentence Ms. Sharon Davis Williams to 20 years, to serve seven, with a balance on probation, 2,000 hours of community service, $25,000 fine.
I'm giving my sentence based on your client-invoked similarly situated, Ms. Sharon Davis Williams and Mr. Pitts, were at the very top of this scandal, at the very top. And everybody in the education system at APS knew that cheating was going on, and your client promoted it.
BAXTER: OK. Fine, in fact --
(CROSSTALK)
BAXTER: A lot of people think a lot of things I do --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Your Honor, I am making a motion for you to recuse yourself in respect to my client since are you not making your decisions based -- apparently, you're going back and forth on a motion.
UNIDENTIFIED DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Your Honor --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May I ask that you give the defendant until 11:00 with your client --
(CROSSTALK)
BAXTER: You sit down or I'm going to put you in jail. If you yell at me, point at me --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You can go --
(CROSSTALK)
BAXTER: He's going to need to fess up. And if he doesn't, then he can -- y'all can go sit over there. And we'll just -- we'll go on.
UNIDENTIFIED DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Your Honor, may I finish?
BAXTER: I'm just telling you, you're giving me all these considerations. I'm just telling you, I don't want to waste time if he's not going to bear his soul here about what he did. And if he does, I'm going to grant him mercy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do hereby sincerely apologize to the students, my fellow staff members, parents, and the Atlanta Public School System, as well as the greater metropolitan school system for my involvement in the 2009 administration resorting to cheating or other dysfunctional acts.
BAXTER: There were thousands of children that were harmed in this thing. This is not a victimless crime that occurred in this city. From 2001, there was wholesale cheating going in the Atlanta public schools. And these kids were passed on and passed on, and had no chance to begin with, because of where they lived, who their parents were, who their -- you know, just their situation. And the only chance that they had was the school --
UNIDENTIFIED DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Judge --
(CROSSTALK)
BAXTER: -- to get an education.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:40:18] BALDWIN: Ooh.
Criminal and civil trial attorney, Eric Guster, joins me now.
My goodness. You have been in courtrooms for 13 years. This back and forth between the judge and some of the defendants and the attorneys. Have you ever seen that?
ERIC GUSTER, CRIMINAL & CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY: That is what trial court is all about. The things you see on TV that make it look sexy and fun, it's not because --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: That was ugly.
GUSTER: Well, it's fun to us, because we love to do it. We are warriors in the courtroom. Trial lawyers are the only thing between your person going to prison or going home. Lawyers are making a tremendous effort to fight for their client, to fight and decide whether they're going to appeal the case or not. This Judge Baxter, he was extremely stern. He was very forthright. And he told these people either take a deal or you're going to prison for a long time.
BALDWIN: He wanted these people to say, yes, I did it.
GUSTER: Yeah.
BALDWIN: Yes, I was guilty. He wanted those last-minute deals.
GUSTER: He did. And he wanted them to accept responsibility. And in trial work, when a jury decides a verdict, you have to accept that verdict through sentencing. You can appeal it, but you have to accept the verdict.
I was watching the sentencing and watching people in front of the judge, and some family members saying, well, my mom didn't do it or my dad didn't do. I was cringing at that point because, in court, you have to accept what the jury said, although you're going to appeal it. And the judge just wanted these people to say, yes, I did it, and I'm sorry. And -- because their sentences would be higher. We call it trial tax. It would be higher at that point.
BALDWIN: But there's a reason they weren't saying, yes, I did it. They want to have that open road potential in the future to appeal.
GUSTER: Yes. And that's the choice they had to make. Either they could take the deal from the prosecutor where they would get a specific -- a specified sentence and that would be their term and they would have to --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Only two took the deal.
GUSTER: Yes. And they would have to waive their right to appeal, which is a big deal. If you waive your right to appeal, you can't come back and say something was wrong with the trial or the jury got it wrong. You're saying, I'm guilty of this, I'm going to accept this specific punishment. And a lot of them did not. And they -- a lot of them did not. And that's where you see the fireworks. It was like the 4th of July fireworks in that courtroom.
BALDWIN: My goodness. One of the biggest cheating scandals ever.
GUSTER: Yes, it was enormous. Enormous.
BALDWIN: Eric, thank you.
GUSTER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Next here on CNN, all eyes on Hillary Clinton's appearance moments ago in Iowa. Now you have New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also hitting the road today in New Hampshire. Is he still a serious contender for the White House in what's becoming a crowded Republican field? We'll talk to our chief Washington correspondent, Jake Tapper, about that.
Also, breaking news. Word of a shipwreck. 400 people reported missing, including children. A rescue is underway. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:47:24] BALDWIN: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie made his name as a straight talker. He is taking that strategy to New Hampshire, the state that hosts the first of the presidential primaries. Case in point, he took on a case that few elected officials like to talk about, the rising cost of Social Security and other entitlements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: In the long term, it will steal our children's future and will bankrupt our nation. Meanwhile, our leaders in Washington are not telling people the truth. Washington is still not dealing with this problem. Frankly, Washington is afraid to have an honest conversation about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid with the people of our country. I am not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Let me bring in our chief Washington correspondent, host of "The Lead," Jake Tapper.
There he was, speaking today. There were probably people out there thinking or who thought maybe it was over for him post- Bridgegate when you looked at the polls he tanked in. What's he up to?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, THE LEAD: Well, I don't think he has ruled it out. In fact, I know he has not ruled it out. He is still considering a presidential run. His campaign people or his aides say this is his ticket to the nomination. They say, A, here he is taking on an issue that no one wants to talk about, which is reforming the safety net programs called entitlements, in an honest and blunt way which is not something you're hearing a lot of the other candidates talk about, at least not in this kind of depth. Two, Christie aides saying that he has, in this type of forum, whether in New Hampshire, New Jersey, or elsewhere, talks to more voters more directly than any other candidate. And they do think that he can possibly town hall his way back in to the affection of the Republican electorate.
BALDWIN: You talk about -- a lot of people love how direct he is in those town halls, his willingness to tell it like it is. It sometimes backfires. I'm curious what you think -- what you think has hurt him more, the Bridgegate controversy or his blunt, bullyish Chris Christie-isms.
TAPPER: Well, I think the Bridgegate controversy scared off a lot of people who wanted to back him financially. And I think a lot of them have either defected or are still taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to whether or not they're going to firmly get behind a Christie campaign. Without question, that did damage, although we're still waiting for the final shoe to drop on that, the investigation by the U.S. attorney.
In terms of his style, there's a difference between saying something bluntly and giving an ugly fact and delivering that to the American people. And I think what you heard just there was Christie in a more calm way being blunt. Some of the things that people have seen in the YouTube loops have been him being, you know, look, I'm from Philly so I know what Jersey guys are like, and it's him being a little Jersey style in-your-face, puffed up a little.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Yeah.
TAPPER: And that may not play so well in Iowa. But I think if he keeps it low key and delivers a blunt message that could differentiate him from the rest of the pack.
[15:50:00] BALDWIN: OK, someone who's hoping to differentiate himself, Senator Marco Rubio. He's now officially in it to win it. Have you a huge get in having him on your show today. Without giving away the forum, what do you plan to talk about?
TAPPER: We'll talk why he's running, and talk about some of the things that he might not want to talk about in terms of criticisms about him and his candidacy. And we'll talk about foreign policy, which I believe is an area he feels he has a leg up over the competition. He is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the Senate Intelligence Committee. But, you know, as you note, I don't know which of his aides are watching right now and I'm certainly not going to tip my hand because this will be a live interview on our show coming up in eight minutes.
BALDWIN: OK, we'll be watching eight minutes from now.
(CROSSTALK) BALDWIN: Jake Tapper, thanks so, so much.
"The Lead" starts at the top of the hour, 4:00 eastern, again, with the big interview with Marco Rubio.
Coming up next, more news just in. This new report suggests the next generation of jetliners, talking Airbus 787s, they're vulnerable to hacking. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:55:49] BALDWIN: Coming up this Sunday, CNN takes a look at the capitalism behind cannabis in this new special "High Profits." Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're parasites. They have no contribution to this society. They're preying on our community and kids and it'll end badly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have exactly $100,000 in cash in the back of his car. I bet those guys right there in that prison are doing just what we're about to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the Breckenridge Cannabis Club to be a household name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is us pioneering a new industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going after every resort town in Colorado. His plan is brilliant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big operation now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not Amsterdam. We're Breckenridge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely unbelievable to us this has happened so quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when the town erupted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All hell is breaking loose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have an image to protect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The powerful elite have definitely put the pressure on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone is playing everyone. They're going to have a target painted on their backs. That is a real threat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's $2 billion to be had next year. I plan to take more than my fair share.
ANNOUNCER: "High Profits," the series premieres Sunday night at 10:00. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Just into us, this new federal report says computer systems aboard next-generation aircraft like the Boeing 787 Airbus A350, they are vulnerable to hacking by someone using the in-flight Wi-Fi or even by someone on the ground.
So let's get right to CNN aviation and government regulation correspondent, Rene Marsh.
And if we're talking next-generation aircraft, is there a threat right now?
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, according to this report -- and we're just going through it because it literally was just released to the public and it's several pages long. But what it does make clear is that there's serious cybersecurity concerns that the FAA must deal with, and that is according to this report.
One of the vulnerabilities, you pointed out, those modern aircraft that are highly automated. According to this report, those onboard computers can essentially be hacked by anyone with a laptop on board or someone with a laptop on the ground. The report goes on to say this is all based on interviews with cybersecurity experts, as well as aviation experts. They then outline a couple of theories. They say someone with a laptop could, "A," commandeer the aircraft and could put a virus into the flight-control computers. They could also jeopardize the safety of the flight by taking control of the computers. And, lastly, they say, a hacker could take over the warning systems or the navigational systems of the aircraft. And we know those are all critical components here.
Again, this is just coming out but the headline, one of the headlines is that they found a vulnerability with these highly automated aircraft and they are saying that the FAA needs to address it at this point -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: This is not something any of us want to hear when we hop on planes, especially in the wake of all those questions and the plane going down in the French Alps. Let me ask you this. There has to be, if they're realizing this, this potential or hacking, Rene, there has to be fixes or recommendations in the report. What do they recommend? 10 seconds.
MARSH: Well, we do know that the congressman, Peter DeFazio, the ranking member of the one of the committees that requested this report, they are asking for the FAA to essentially come up with a cybersecurity threat plan, a very comprehensive one, so that is one of the many recommendations in this report -- Brooke?
[15:59:26] BALDWIN: OK. All right, Rene, thank you very much in Washington. Again, just a quick reminder to all of you on CNN, we were
talking to Drew Griffin of our Investigations Unit this past hour. Five years, in just a couple of days, since that massive disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. So we want you to watch our special report. It is airing this evening, "Blowout: The Gulf Oil Disaster," 9:00 eastern and pacific. Gulf oil disaster, 9:00 pacific and eastern here on CNN.
I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York. Thank you so much for being with me. I'll be back sitting in for Don Lemon tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern, "CNN Tonight."
In the meantime, to Washington, the big Marco Rubio interview coming up in a matter of minutes. "The Lead" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
TAPPER: Hillary Clinton is in Iowa and Marco Rubio is in our studio. Your one-stop shop for 2016 --
