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Christie Presidential Race; Clinton Policy and Donations; National Guardsman Arrested; ISIS Controls Key Iraqi City; Putin's Late Night Q&A on TV. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 16, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: For the governor right now. He got a bunch of questions about it in a restaurant in West Manchester where he was just yesterday. But in a town meeting yesterday, he talked a lot about policy issues, Social Security, Cuba policy, vaccinations. He's making the case that he hasn't changed.

If the polling's any indication, people in New Jersey don't have a very positive view of him as a commander in chief. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said Christie would not make a good president and just 34 percent said he would make a good president. Those numbers have actually gotten worse from just two months ago and his approval rating is not great either. Forty-one percent say he's doing a good job as governor. And now there's a real question, of course, about how relevant polling like this is so far out from an election. And that's the point the governor was making in his recent interview with NBC. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I've been the frontrunner before. It's a place where the bulls-eye's on your back and everybody's shooting at you. So that's OK. I'm fine with exactly where I am right now because I haven't changed. Because all that other stuff's artificial until the game really begins. And the game hasn't even come close to beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The game hasn't even become close to beginning. Governor Christie says he will make a decision on whether to jump in himself late spring or early summer, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And just very quickly, Joe, is - what's the backstory in terms of all these different candidates jumping in? You know, is there somebody saying, OK, you should come, you should come, maybe not you? How does it really work? What's - what's the inside story?

JOHNS: Well, typically, there's a big concern about making sure you can get the staff and the infrastructure and get donors committed as early as possible before they're all taken away by somebody else. So one candidate is trying to get as many people locked in on his side before he or she moves forward. And that's sort of the game. Christie's in a position where a lot of some of the very top people

have probably already committed, they've already chosen a horse. So he maybe have - he may have to choose for some new people the longer he waits.

FEYERICK: All right, Joe Johns, thanks. We'll keep watching.

And as for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton, she's heading home after spending the past few days drumming up support in Iowa, but she's going to have some tough questions to answer about policy and from what countries her foundation will accept donations. Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins me.

And, Jeff, let's talk policy. The Clinton campaign tweeted last night part of her agenda, that "every American deserves a fair shot at success. Fast food and child care workers shouldn't have to march in the streets for living wages."

So, when does she lay out the specifics of her plan, which really focus on the economy, stronger families, fixing the political system.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deb.

She's going to lay out this policy bit by bit. We've seen a lot of tweets from her, but certainly no policy speeches. Her advisors tell us that she's, you know, going to continue the soliciting tour, which we saw in Iowa this week. It will continue next week in New Hampshire and ono to other early voting states. But then it won't be until May when she gives a big speech to outline some specific policy proposals.

But we are seeing her do it along the way. And I think that tweet right there was in response to the news articles and the protests that are happening really across the country about higher wages in fast food restaurants. So she's kind of reacting to the news as she goes, but she's not going to give any specific policy proposals, any - any platforms for at least a month or so.

But, look, we know where she stands. She basically, you know, has the democrat - you know, these democratic liberal populous principles in mind on all these boilerplate issues.

FEYERICK: All right. And it is interesting that she is - or her team is responding sort of today of events that will connect them perhaps more to folks who are struggling.

The Clinton Foundation also announcing that its changing the way it accepts foreign donations due to Hillary's presidential campaign. Could that be a problem for her because the foundation defended it saying, look, she is - you know, there's still time, why take away from valuable programs?

ZELENY: Well, the Clinton Foundation has been a central area of concern for some of her advisers because they operate under different rules. This is a nonprofit foundation. It's not a political organization. So some of those donations don't necessarily wash with the politics. So the foundation is trying to clean this up, if you will. She resigned her seat on the foundation. And now the foundation is saying that they will only accept international foundations from some six countries. They are not going to accept them from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, other places that don't necessarily have the same human rights values that the U.S. does. So mainly European countries, they will still accept them from. But the foundation is going to be an area of - of fertile ground for Republican rivals and opposition researchers to look in and see exactly who is giving what and what they might be getting out of it.

[09:35:07] FEYERICK: Yes, and I think the foundation also said that it is going to change its policy -

ZELENY: It is.

FEYERICK: Instead of disclosing its donors annually, they're going to do it quarterly. That might appease some there who want to take aim.

All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

ZELENY: Thanks, Deb.

FEYERICK: And, of course, the early entrance into the 2016 race providing plenty of fodder for late night comedians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Hillary Clinton is trying an entirely different approach with Iowa than the one she tried eight years ago when she lost there. Yes, she's trying something else. One thing, she's not going to start speeches by saying, hello, Iowa, or Idaho, or whichever one you are. Didn't go well for her.

DAVID LETTERMAN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: She's trying to appear home spun and down home and earlier today she was sitting on the front porch of a general store whittling a pant suit.

O'BRIEN: In his lifetime, Marco Rubio has identified himself as a Mormon, a Catholic and a Baptist. Yes, Rubio plans to address questions about exactly what his religious believes are this Saturday at his bar mitzvah. So -- fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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FEYERICK: They are sworn to protect our country. Well, two Army National Guardsmen could face years in prison. They are accused of trying to sell guns and ammo to people they believed were members of a Mexican drug cartel. CNN justice reporter Evan Perez is following the latest developments in Washington.

[09:40:12] What a breech, Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: That's right, Deb. These two soldiers worked at an Army National Guard armory in southern California and they're due in court later today to answer federal charges that they tried to sell guns and thousands of rounds of stolen military ammunition to Mexican drug cartels.

Now, federal prosecutors in San Diego say 22-year-old Jaime Casillas and 34-year-old Andrew Reyes were caught in a sting operation run by the ATF. Both men are charged with dealing firearms without a license, which carries a sentence of five years. Reyes is also charged with unlicensed transportation of firearms across state lines.

Now, investigators say, an uncover DEA agent, posing as a cartel middle man, told the soldiers that he was shipping weapons to cartels in Mexico. Now, among the arsenal they allegedly sold, at least seven guns, including four AR-15 rifles, an AK-47 rifle and thousands of rounds of ammunition stolen from the military armory. During one of these transactions, Deb, the soldiers showed up in military uniforms and sold an AR-15 rifle for $2,000.

FEYERICK: You know, it's so fascinating. You always have to wonder whether these two - whether people like this are either predisposed to this kind of crime or whether, in fact, agents picked up on it and interceded. All right - or intervened I should say.

Evan Perez, thank you so much.

PEREZ: Thanks.

FEYERICK: We'll follow that as more details become available.

And also still to come, quote, "I grabbed my children and ran." The chilling words from one of thousands trying to escape ISIS militants as terrorists close in on a key Iraqi city. Up next, we're going to take you there as the violence intensifies.

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[09:45:04] FEYERICK: A desperate plea for help as thousands of Iraqis flee western Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Right now, ISIS militants are edging toward total control in the key city of Ramadi. That's the same place where U.S. troops fought and died during the Iraq war.

Overnight, clashes intensifying between militants and Iraqi security forces. CNN senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, is in Baghdad and

she was in that region as civilians tried to escape.

We do want to warn you that some of the content you're about to hear may be disturbing to some viewers.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We were trying to get to Ramadi, instead we came across shell shocked families ISIS had just assaulted in the morning from the East.

As a security measure, cars are not allowed to cross this bridge, but this is the only way to reach Baghdad. Those fleeing the violence piled their belongings, children and elderly into metal carts.

Samida Ibrahim (ph) starts crying the moment we approach her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: "They took our homes and kicked us out," she sobs. For weeks officials and forces in Ramadi have been warning of this, begged for reinforcements and air strikes, but to no avail. And it's not just Ramadi where people are pleading for help. Between the bridge and Ramadi is Amiriyah (ph) Falluja.

Police Chief Major Ottis Ajenabi (ph) points out the ISIS positions.

DAMON (on camera): So, ISIS is back in that tree line about a kilometer.

DAMON (voice-over): "We need coalition support," Ajenabi states. He's been sending ISIS position coordinates to the joint command center, but there have been no significant strikes or reinforcements. Why? He doesn't know.

ISIS attacks regularly, the hospital exterior scarred with shrapnel. Inside, Ahmed Hussien, a tribal fighter, shot by a sniper in this last assault on Ramadi, the bullet just missed his heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: "We didn't leave a single person, we didn't call and ask for back up," he says. Upstairs, a woman wounded in the town two days ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: "I was out in the garden and a rocket hit and the shrapnel sliced me," Ahmel Ahkmed (ph) says, tears falling from her eyes. "I felt something fall out of me, and I put it back in."

A few moments later while we were in another building, ISIS attacks.

DAMON (on camera): It was just a massive explosion. We're not sure exactly what. It may have been a rocket or mortar of sorts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They think there is more.

DAMON: They think there is more?

DAMON (voice-over): The impact shattered the glass. More explosions in the distance, and then another that shakes the building.

DAMON (on camera): They're clearing a way for us to get to the cars.

DAMON (voice-over): We are lucky. We are able to leave, and we don't have to make the impossible choice of living under bombardment and ISIS terror or suffer the indignities of life as a refugee. And if help does not arrive, many more will end up like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (on camera): And CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now from Baghdad. Remarkable, Arwa, just the access that you have, but also seeing what those people are going through.

What's the latest?

DAMON (on camera): It's absolutely heartbreaking for the civilians, Deb, as it always is in these kinds of situations.

The latest in Ramadi according to the deputy head of the Provincial Council is that finally those much pleaded for air strikes have begun, according to him, take place.

Now, he says they're coalition air strikes, we can't confirm that they are, in fact, coalition or Iraqi. Either way, he says these strikes have been taking place on the outskirts of Ramadi, cutting off the ISIS logistical supply routes and reinforcements that are trying to reach the ISIS fighters inside the city.

And in Ramadi, fighters had been advancing very close to the city center, to the government complex, trying to assault and breach it earlier today. Those air strikes forcing the ISIS advance to a halt, but there is still a great need for ground troops to actually even begin trying to push the ISIS fighters out.

The issue, of course, at this stage is that since ISIS is already inside the city, defeating them is going to be that much more difficult and challenging. It will mean street to street battles, it will mean air strikes in an urban environment, it has the potential of not just wrecking physical damage on Ramadi, but also causing a significant amount potentially of civilian casualties.

[09:50:03] Yes, upwards of 150,000 people have already fled, but many more do remain still trapped inside, Deb.

FEYERICK: And still, where to go? That's also the question. Arwa Damon, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, call it late night with Vladimir Putin, or just the Putin show, Vlad TV maybe. Russian President Vladimir Putin fielding questions from citizens in his annual televised Q&A session.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

FEYERICK (voice-over): It's promoted as direct public access to the president, but critics say it just puts the mock in democracy, the carefully vetted questions serving as a vehicle for Putin's message.

Well, last year's session ran three hours 55 minutes, in 2013 a record breaking 4 hours 47 minutes. And CNN's Matthew Chance joins me from Moscow. (END VIDEOCLIP)

FEYERICK (on camera): Nearly 2.5 million questions submitted this year. What were the themes, and was there anything interesting?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of interesting stuff, yes. He crammed it all into four hours as well, which was pretty good by Vladimir Putin's standards.

Much of the questioning was about the economy, the Russian economy has been in free fall, of course, although it's ticked up a little bit in recent weeks. The ruble, the currency, has been plunging against the dollar. People's standards of living has been really deteriorating. And so, this was one of the big concerns of ordinary Russians and there were a number of questions asked about that, which Vladimir Putin tried to answer as frankly as he possibly could.

[09:55:02] One of the questions, for instance, the prices in the shops are going up but our salaries are staying the same. When is that going to change? And so, this exercise, this offense, gives us a good indication of what's on the minds of people in Russia. So, that's I think, its main value.

Other issues as well. He talked about the decision by Russia recently to supply Iran with very powerful surface-to-air missiles. He talked about various other issues like the relationship with the West and with the United States in particular. He also was asked about the killing earlier this year of Boris Nemtsov, that very prominent opposition figure who was gunned down outside the walls of the Kremlin. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: I just want to say quickly there are no Russian troops in Ukraine. If we look at the recent contract - conflict in Southeast Don bass, where openly, publicly colleagues have said we are not fighting with the Russian army.

As far as the murder of Boris Nemtsov is concerned, we have friendly relations. It was tragic and shameful. The question about whether we can find the people who were ordered to carry out, I don't know.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CHANCE: So, just an opportunity for Vladimir Putin to speak his mind and to reassure the Russian public that their concerns will in some way be addressed.

Deb?

FEYERICK: All right, Matthew Chance there for us. Thank you so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins after a break.

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