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Reserve Deputy Has Falsified Training Documents?; Pilot in Custody After Capitol Copter Stunt; Aaron Hernandez Convicted of First Degree Murder; Netanyahu Links Iran to Nazis in Speech; Interview with Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 16, 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] ROMANS: There are scholarships and programs for her to go and get a master's degree if she'd like for free because of the debt we owe to her and her family, not the other way around.

BERMAN: Amazing. Life-changing.

HARLOW: Good for you guys for bringing that story.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

BERMAN: Thanks, Christine.

HARLOW: Good stuff.

ROMANS: One of those rarest things. When you do something -- doing your job.

CUOMO: Thank you for pushing it. And it's nice that the debt was forgiven. Say we support the troops. It's nice to see it in action.

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, guys. Time for "NEWSROOM" today, and Debra Feyerick in for Carol Costello.

Hey, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody. Wouldn't it be great if all debt could be forgiven for these college students? They've got a lot to carry.

All right. Thanks, guys. Have a great morning, we'll pick it up here.

And after that fatal shooting in Oklahoma, an explosive report on the volunteer deputy who pulled the trigger. Were supervisors ordered to fudge his training?

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not good, people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: A U.S. postal worker breaches one of the most secure areas in the world, landing just feet from the U.S. capitol in his gyrocopter. He told his family that that's what he was going to do. He also told a newspaper. So why wasn't he stopped?

And then, Hillary might have thrown her hat in the ring, but foreign donors to the Clinton Foundation? Not ruled out.

Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much, everyone, for joining us.

We begin with a bombshell report on the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to "The Tulsa World," supervisors of Robert Bates, the 73-year-old volunteer deputy sheriff who says he accidentally fired his gun instead of his taser, well, they were allegedly ordered to falsify Bates' training records.

The report claims that at least three of those supervisors were reassigned after they refused to do that. It's unclear exactly who ordered the order to make those changes, but if true it could mean that Bates received credit for field and weapons training that he never completed.

Bates, who has donated equipment to the force and is a friend of the sheriff's, has been charged with manslaughter. The sheriff's office says the accusations are false but "The Tulsa World" is standing by its report.

That is the man who he shot accidentally in the moments after that gun and drug ammo went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZIVA BRANSLETTER, ENTERPRISE EDITOR, TULSA WORLD: There are hundreds of hours that may have been falsified, at least three supervisors that may have been -- that our sources said were transferred, were disciplined because they refused to sign off on training that Bates never received, including weapons training.

There are some records we can discuss and some we can't. But Bates, in his statement which we obtained yesterday, said that he had become an advanced deputy in 2007, which requires hundreds of hours of training. That's -- that's a different timeline than the sheriff's office has given, and then the sheriff himself said that they have lost some of his handgun certification records, and they are trying to figure out if he is even certified.

We had -- it's been two days ago and we haven't heard any answer to that. So those definitely kind of lined up with what we're being told.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FEYERICK: So let's bring in CNN national correspondent, Ryan Young.

And, Ryan, that's pretty explosive. The sheriff's department even says that the instructor who apparently certified him, well, they can't find those records and now they're actually trying to call that instructor who went on to a different law enforcement agency.

What are you finding?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this certainly could be explosive details in this case. I can tell you a lot of people have been asking this question since that shooting happened, should the 73- year-old even be at a scene like this, a tactical operation?

When we show you the video that millions of people have seen now, the gun going off after he screamed, taser, taser, the question started coming up almost immediately whether or not this man, Robert Bates, should have been on this tactical duty.

Now what we've learned from the "Tulsa World" paper is essentially they believe that three supervisors have been reassigned from not being able to falsify those records. In fact yesterday we were reporting the idea as to whether or not Robert Bates paid to be a part of the sheriff's office in this reserve deputy role because of the fact he's donated five cars, video equipment and money to the re- election campaign.

So much conversation about this that now that the record -- discrepancy has come forth, there'll be plenty of people who are asking questions, in fact we talked to his attorney and to the sheriff's department a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: For failure to sign off on his training, approve his training?

SGT. JIM CLARK, TULSA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Not to my knowledge, no.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So there's ever been any concern about his training and his --

CLARK: Not that I am aware of, no. He has been trained.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Anything?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he has 300 hours, or almost 300 hours of CLEET credit training, and state statute requires 25 hours of continuing education for a year, so he is well in excess of what you would anticipate someone would have that was meeting minimum requirements.

[09:05:10] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But no one has ever expressed concerns about his ability or his training at the sheriff's office?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never to me. In fact just --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At the sheriff's office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, just the opposite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Now there's been talk that this insurance CEO actually has been involved in hundreds of operations, but now all that is under questions, including this entire program, something that everyone is going to be focusing on now -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes, absolutely. The sheriff's office has ordered an audit of this reserve deputy program.

All right, Ryan Young, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And let's talk more with someone very familiar with this kind of training, former ATF agent, Matthew Horace.

And, Matthew, thanks so much for joining us. You know, first of all your reaction to the allegations that supervisors were actually ordered to falsify these training records, not just one but three different officers. What do you say about that?

MATTHEW HORACE, FORMER ATF AGENT: Well, good morning, Deborah. I think if you look at the fact that number one we talked about early this week the fact that there's a different training mechanism for use of the taser than there is the use of your primary firearm. That came out.

The other thing is that tactically, tactically, officers that are out on tactical operations should receive hundreds or more hours of qualification time than officer that just might be issued a taser for general use. In this case, he had neither and I think the incident proves that.

FEYERICK: What's interesting also is that when we think of these reserve officers, are they usually on a general rotation? Are they expected to put in a certain number of hours with a department, or is this something when they want to volunteer they decide they volunteer, which, you know, we're not sure whether that was the case here. But what is the protocol even for what they are supposed to do?

HORACE: Well, every department operates uniquely different. I have seen reserve officers do ride-alongs with officers, I've seen them participate in parade marches and routes, and community service events, but never, never have I seen a reserve officer used in a tactical operation involving the purchase of firearms from a suspect who they knew to have a criminal record.

FEYERICK: So what you're saying essentially is this was well beyond his training, well beyond his skill set?

HORACE: Even if he had qualified with the taser once, let's just say back in 2007, and qualified with his firearm back in 2007, normally there are systems in place to ensure that you get refresher training throughout the year. Even if that were the case, he was ill qualified to be on a tactical operation. It was a danger to the suspect, it was a danger to other officers and it was a danger to the public.

FEYERICK: And just very quickly, if in fact those records were falsified, what does that mean to the sheriff's department? What does that mean to him personally?

HORACE: Well, beside the fact it creates a clear picture of lack of integrity for the sheriff's office, there may be criminal proceedings that can be brought upon members of the department. Everyone in law enforcement knows that your Firearms qualifications are a clear and present validation of your qualifications of the officers to be on the road and do their jobs.

Every time there is a use of force, any type of use of force, the first thing that gets called into question are the qual records from the individual who used the force.

FEYERICK: All right. Matthew Horace with the ATC, thank you so much. We really appreciate your insights.

HORACE: Have a great day.

FEYERICK: Of course. You too.

And a man in police custody and headed to court later today after a major security scare just feet from the capitol building. You've probably already seen the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not good, people. No, he's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: OK. Even a tour guide or spectator knows that is not good when they see something flying towards the capitol.

Doug Hughes was in a gyrocopter and he went into a heavily restricted capital airspace yesterday afternoon. Now the mailman was pulling off a stunt to apparently protest campaign finance reform. Now investigators are scrambling to explain how they could have missed the gyrocopter.

Rene Marsh is on site where Mr. Hughes landed just feet from the capitol steps. You can see how close it is -- Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Deb, that gyrocopter landed right here on the West Lawn of the U.S. capitol and just steps away, literally steps away is the U.S. capitol building and that is why this set off such a scramble yesterday.

The building was on lockdown, surrounding streets were shut down, and NORAD says it didn't get a heads up until the gyrocopter landed on the West Lawn. Law enforcement sources say it didn't show up on radar, so it appears this pilot flew from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and into restricted airspace without being detected. An alarming vulnerability in what is supposed to be the most secure airspace in the world -- Deb.

[09:10:01] FEYERICK: And Rene who joins us live. First of all, remarkable to see just how close he got. Who is in charge of monitoring airspace in front of the capitol? And could anything have been done once he got as far as he did?

MARSH: Well, Deb, we know that the airspace is under the control of the FAA. However, when it comes to this very hypersensitive portion of the airspace in Washington, D.C., there are many agencies that have their eyes on this airspace 24/7, including the FAA, also Secret Service, U.S. capitol police, DHS, NORAD. So they all are looking at their radar screens literally around the clock, looking for anything that is not supposed to be there.

But the big question is, why did this appear to be a surprise to so many people? We know from law enforcement sources it didn't show up on radar, and NORAD says they didn't know about it until it actually landed. So it really does beg some questions about this vulnerability and again what is supposed to be such a hypersensitive, highly-secured portion of airspace.

FEYERICK: Yes. There's no question. The fact that it didn't show up on any sort of radar is because it was flying well below what radar usually would normally pick up.

Rene Marsh, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

And we go from a gridiron star to locked behind bars. Less than two miles from the field where Aaron Hernandez once scored touchdowns as tight end for the New England Patriots, he now sits in a maximum security facility. The 25-year-old was sentenced to life without parole after jurors convicted him of first-degree murder.

A source tells CNN that Hernandez told jailers on his way to prison, quote, "Hey, man, I'm going to miss you guys, but, you know, they got it wrong, I didn't do it, I don't need any luck anymore."

So what will his life be like in prison?

Susan Candiotti is following the latest developments in Fall Rivers -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deb. Aaron Hernandez wakes up this morning in a prison just a few miles away from the place where he was once a rising star for the New England Patriots. Gillette Stadium. And not only is he convicted of first-degree murder, talk about what he threw away. He once had a five-year $40 million contract with the Patriots, and now he is at least temporarily in a prison where the wage is 50 cents an hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): They got it wrong. Aaron Hernandez's words during his transfer to a state prison Wednesday. That prison close to the stadium where he once played as a New England Patriot. A law enforcement source saying, Hernandez telling his jailers, quote, "I didn't do it," hours after being sentenced to life without parole.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty of murder in the first degree.

CANDIOTTI: Hernandez grim-faced as he heard the verdict with his mother and fiance in tears, and just feet away from the family of victim, Odin Lloyd, no less emotional. Hernandez pursing his lip and appearing to mouth the words, you're wrong, and then telling his family, be strong and I'm OK. Watching them weep.

A jury finding Hernandez guilty of the 2013 execution style murder of Odin Lloyd, shot six times. Central to the case, surveillance videos that show the victim on the night of his death getting into a rented Altima with Hernandez and two other men. Other video showing the same car at the industrial park where Lloyd's body was found. And minutes later that car back in Hernandez's driveway.

Hernandez's own surveillance cameras capture him holding what prosecutors say is the murder weapon. That 45 caliber Glock was never found. Surprising to the jury, the defense team during closing arguments admitting Hernandez was at the crime scene, saw Lloyd killed, but did not shoot him. After sentencing, jurors tell reporters they found out from the judge that Hernandez now faces trial for double murder in Boston.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That we did the right thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That we did the right thing. Absolutely.

CANDIOTTI: After the verdict, Lloyd's mother addressed her son's killer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I forgive the hands of the people that had a hand in my son's murder, and I pray and hope that someday everyone out there will forgive them also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Hernandez's legal troubles are far from over. In a few days authorities will be setting a date for his trial on double murder charges in a case that's come to be known as murder over a spilled drink -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: Susan, great job. Thank you.

And still to come, Benjamin Netanyahu comes out swinging against Iran, calling the country a modern-day version of Nazi Germany. Find out why he says Western nations are enabling the Iranian regime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: In Israel, a day considered one of the most solemn on the nation's calendar, as citizens observe Holocaust Remembrance Day. Earlier today, sirens ringing out across the country as millions stop in place with their heads bowed in tribute to the 6 million killed.

And in a speech at a ceremony last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drawing a link between the tragedy and the Iran nuclear deal.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem.

And, Oren, the prime minster who is never lack for words really came out swinging on this deal.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deb, this is the strongest language we have seen yet from Netanyahu. He's put out a number of statements especially in days and recent weeks, lashing out against this deal pointing out all the problems he sees with the deal, but none like this, and none using this sort of language. He has drawn the comparison before between the Nazi regime and the Iranian regime, but not using this sort of language.

He says the Western world is deaf and blind to what he says is death and destruction coming from the Iranian regime. This is part of what he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The bad deal being formed with Iran showed the historic lesson is not being learned.

[09:20:00] In the face of Iran's aggressive actions, the West is giving in.

(END VIDE OCLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Again, we have seen these sorts of statements from Netanyahu, especially over recent days and weeks when he came out against the Iranian nuclear deal, working with some in Congress, and we have seen statements from others in his government, his defense minister, his intelligence minister, but in recent days and especially in recent weeks Netanyahu, he upped his rhetoric, though this was the strongest language he has yet used. We expect more as they work out the details of the nuclear for him to keep coming out against this deal -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Yes, he made it very clear, Oren, that he will preserve Israel's right to defend itself as it sees fit.

All right. Oren Liebermann, thank you much.

And joining me now from Washington is Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

And, Senator, Netanyahu called the nook deal an appeasement, and he said the civilized world sunk into a coma, is laying on the bed of illusions, and really said that this was the kind of appeasement that U.S. and others made to the Nazi's before World War II. Do you agree?

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Well, I have concerns from what I have seen in the framework so far, Deb, and the Iranians are able to continue with all of their centrifuges in place, their facilities continued to be operational, including the one that's the secret one, hard to get at with bombs, and they continue with research and development, and we all know Iran with a nuclear development makes our world less safe, less secure, less stable and that to me is the concern.

FEYERICK: Yesterday, the grand ayatollah essentially said that as soon as this deal is cut, they said they wanted all sanctions ended. Congress at least has a say in that. How do you see that working out?

BARRASSO: Well, the sanctions are not going to be released, whatever the ayatollah wants, until Congress has an opportunity to review and vote on what is in the agreement.

But we know Iran wants the money, and that's what it's all about, tens of billions almost immediately that they will use, and I do not see that money being used for humanitarian reasons, for hospitals, or schools or roads, I see it being used for additional terrorists activities, whether it's Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis.

What we are seeing across the world is Iranian government working in an effort for more terror.

FEYERICK: Although ironically, you look at Iraq, and the U.S. and its allies and the coalition has control of the air power, but on the ground it's Iranian forces. So the two, in effect, do have a mutual goal when it comes to ISIS, and there is that component of this relationship?

BARRASSO: You are absolutely right, Deb. I met yesterday with the new prime minister of Iraq, and we are fighting air power in the fight against ISIS, but it's the Iranian soldiers are on the ground with the Iraqi military.

So, we are assisting them there, but yet in Yemen, on the other side of Saudi Arabia, we are assisting Saudi Arabia in the fight against the Iranian guards who are helping the terrorists in Yemen. So, we're with them in one place and against them in another, at the same time trying to negotiate a deal with regards to nuclear weapons.

FEYERICK: And so, when you see that $10 billion which Iran wants released, do you believe Iran becomes even a greater player in the Middle East region which for all intents and purposes is in chaos right now?

BARRASSO: I agree with you and I do view it that way, and I had a chance earlier this year to meet some of the freedom fighters in the Syrian free army and met with them in Saudi Arabia, and they said when sanctions got some relief and Iran got some more money in the continuing of negotiations, that money was used to help Hamas, help Hezbollah, help other terrorists, not to help the people inside Iran. That is the big concern with any release of sanctions. FEYERICK: And very quickly just to follow-up, you did meet with the

prime minister yesterday from Iraq who has been praised as having built many more bridges than his predecessor. What did he tell you that, perhaps, we don't know?

BARRASSO: Well, that the concern is that they are trying to fight and defeat ISIS on the ground and they are worried about losing the country of Iraq to Iran because you have Iranian soldiers as part of the fight on the ground while America is only flying air power. If ISIS is defeated, and when ISIS is defeated, will it be Iranian troops on the ground that will take that country?

FEYERICK: They will have a foothold there.

All right. Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, we thank you very much, and you are also on the Foreign Relations Committee -- we thank you for your time.

BARRASSO: Thank you, Deb.

FEYERICK: Still to come, Chris Christie undecided on a presidential bid, but new polling shows he may have cause for concern.

Our Joe Johns following that story.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deb. Chris Christie has not said whether he is jumping into the presidential race but it's clear he is thinking about it, so what do the folks in his home state of New Jersey think about his chances? I'll have that on the report, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining me. I am Deborah Feyerick in for Carol Costello.

Well, the GOP race for the White House is beginning to take shape, and we know these three guys are in, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, all have declared. But what about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on "Today" show,responded about how a possible presidential run has died down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I don't know. Neither do you. We will see. I will tell you this much, I have been the frontrunner before, it's the bullseye is on your back and everybody is shooting at you, and that's OK, I am fine with where I am right now because I have not changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is following this for us.

Good morning, Joe. So, he hasn't changed. Does that work to his benefit?

JOHNS: Well, we'll just have to see. I mean, he has not changed, but there's a lot of swirled around him. Bridge-gate continues to be a big burden for the governor, and he got a bunch of questions in a restaurant in West Manchester where he was yesterday, but in a town meeting yesterday, he talked a lot about policy issues, Social Security, Cuba policy, vaccinations.