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DOJ Opens Civil Rights Investigation on Baltimore Shooting; Boston Bombing Trial; Showdown with Tehran; Interview with U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida; Could Reagan Shooter Be Released? Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 22, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:02] CUOMO: The wedding is expected soon. The anonymous donor says their story renewed her faith in love.

CAMEROTA: Just what she needed.

PEREIRA: Just what they needed.

CAMEROTA: That's beautiful.

PEREIRA: We wish you well, Josh.

CUOMO: Good stuff.

PEREIRA: Time for the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Good morning, Miss Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Have a great day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you take a man, put him in handcuffs and then feel as though you want to hurt them dead. As a human being -- I don't even do that to my dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a brother in anguish. A city on edge. Now the feds are asking, how did Freddie Gray's spine sever while he was -- while he was in police custody? I'll talk to the family's attorney.

Plus, the man who shot President Reagan makes his plea for freedom 30 minutes from now. Should the would-be assassin be able to leave his mental hospital for a room overlooking a golf course.

Then Tsarnaev, giving the middle finger to a courtroom camera after his arrest. Will this picture push jurors closer to sentencing the Boston Bomber to death?

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM. And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining

me.

We begin this hour with new fears of terrorism in Europe. The French president, Francois Hollande, is about to speak about a foiled terror plot, one that police say was imminent. We'll monitor that for any details. But here's what we know about it right now.

Government officials say a 24-year-old man was planning to strike one or two churches in suburban Paris and then travel to Syria. He is described as an IT student. He's also been linked to the weekend killing of a woman.

News of the alleged plot swept through Paris still rattled by terrorists strikes in January. In separate attacks gunmen laid siege to the kosher market and the offices of the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine. Seventeen people, as you know, died in those attacks.

In other news this morning, outrage on the streets of Baltimore.

Hundreds of angry protesters coming together to demand justice following the death of 25-year-old, Freddie Gray. Gray suffering a fatal spinal cord injury after being taken into police custody. His family walking side by side with demonstrators on Tuesday. Today more protests are planned. All of this as the Justice Department opens a civil rights investigation into the case. The six police officers involved now identified and suspended with pay.

Let's bring in CNN national correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux. She's in Baltimore.

Good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

I was at that protest last night where we saw Freddie Gray's mother just collapse with grief. We saw his brother as well leading in chants for justice. Well, that family, the protesters and the community, they're going to be here outside of city hall tomorrow. Protests will continue as they continue demand for answers.

It has been 10 days now since Freddie Gray was taken into police custody and three days since he has died, and we still have very little information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The voices of demonstrators united, making their point clear, Baltimore is fed up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no shame.

MALVEAUX: The Baltimore Police department lined with barricades and officers, protesters standing firm with their demand for justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you take a man, put him in handcuffs, and then feel as though you want to hurt him dead?

CAPT. ERIC KOWALCZYK, BALTIMORE POLICE: We hear the frustration of the community. We hear the angst and the hurt in the Gray family. And we have an obligation to make sure that are as open and transparent with this investigation as we can be.

MALVEAUX: Freddie Gray's mother shielding her face, overcome with grief Tuesday. Still unable to lay her son to rest. Police have yet to turn over his body. The family plans to conduct a second private autopsy.

The "Baltimore Sun" quoting the family as saying, "Before he died Gray underwent surgery for three fractured vertebrae in his neck and a crushed larynx."

MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE (D), BALTIMORE: I don't know at what point Mr. Gray suffered the traumatic and fatal injuries. I don't know but I'm determined to get to the bottom of it.

MALVEAUX: The Department of Justice says it now launching their own probe to determine if any civil rights were violated. And this week, Baltimore Police Department releasing the names of all six officers who were directly involved in the April 12th arrest. Five men and one woman, their ages ranging from 25 to 45, four of them relatively new to the force, the other two have at least 15 years of experience with the department.

All six suspended with pay. Authorities stressing that the actions taken against them in no way implies any wrongdoing in the arrest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:05:09] MALVEAUX: Well, the Law Enforcement Officer's Bill of Rights basically prohibits the police from interviewing those who are involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray for 10 days. Well, that is now expired so they can get information directly from those officers starting today so we'll see if we get anymore additional information.

And Carol, I had a chance to talk to one of the representatives of the family early this morning. What are they doing and how are they doing. Yesterday they thought they would get the body of Freddie Gray to them. That did not happen. They are still hopeful that perhaps that will happen later today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Suzanne Malveaux reporting live from Baltimore this morning.

We're also learning new details about the struggle between police and Gray. A witness who shot this video and does not want to be identified, say cops were being rough with Gray before he started recording.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had Freddie Gray bent up into what I would like to call a pretzel type of move where they had the heels to his feet to his back and then he was still in handcuffs, and then they had the knee like in the back of his neck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now Jason Downs, one of the Gray family attorneys.

Welcome.

JASON DOWNS, GRAY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. Mr. Gray's family said Freddie Gray suffered three fractured vertebrae and a crushed larynx. Do you have a theory as to how Mr. Gray's larynx was crushed?

DOWNS: We don't know exactly how Mr. Gray's larynx was crushed but it's cleared that it was crushed while he was in police custody. And so there's no question that it was caused while Mr. Gray was in police custody. The only question is, how did that happen and who was involved? And we need to speak with those officers to find out exactly how this happened.

COSTELLO: Well, apparently from what Suzanne Malveaux just reported the mayor will be able to get information directly from those police officers today. Do you think that information will be easily forthcoming?

DOWNS: Well, if you look historically at the police, we're not exactly hopeful that information will be forthcoming, but we do -- we do expect that the police should be made to answer questions as to exactly what happened to Mr. Gray once Mr. Gray came into their custody.

And it's clear that Mr. Gray came into their custody unlawfully. So exactly why was he in their custody? That's the first question that needs to be answered. And after he was unlawfully in their custody, what exactly did they do to him to cause his larynx to be crushed and his spine to be severed? Those are just a few of the questions that need to be answered.

COSTELLO: The U.S. Justice Department is opening a criminal investigation into Mr. Gray's death. It will most likely conduct its own autopsy, the FBI will be involved. I assume you welcome this?

DOWNS: Absolutely. We certainly welcome this. This is a good first step in the direction towards receiving justice for Mr. Gray. It's just one step. It's certainly not the end result. But we do welcome an investigation because we are looking for the truth.

COSTELLO: On the other hand, The "New York Times" writes this, this morning, "Even as the Justice Department opened more than 20 civil rights investigations into local law enforcement practices, the Justice Department has staked out positions that make it harder for people to sue the police, and that gives officers more discretion about when to fire their guns.

Are you surprised by that? DOWNS: Well, at this point, this case doesn't involve any weapons

being fired to my knowledge. When I say weapons, I mean guns. There is a question about whether a taser was fired in this case. But this case does not involve any allegation of any guns being fired.

COSTELLO: Oh no, I understand that.

DOWNS: This case involves --

COSTELLO: I'm just asking you, were you surprised that the Justice Department seemed to weigh in on the police officers' side most of the time.

DOWNS: Well, the real question is, what is the Justice Department going to do in this particular case? Are they actually going to search for the truth as to what happened to Mr. Gray? And we do -- we are hopeful that the Justice Department will search for the truth and get to the bottom of exactly what happened to Mr. Gray.

COSTELLO: And just back to the protests for a minute. They were largely peacefully yesterday. Is there anything the Gray family would like to say to these protesters?

DOWNS: The Gray family right now is grieving. They are tremendously upset. Their questions are more geared toward the police department and they want answers and they want to know what happened to their son and how did a healthy young man unlawfully come in contact with the police and then his spine be severed. Those are the questions they want answered right now.

COSTELLO: All right. Jason Down, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I appreciate it.

DOWNS: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: It is day two in the sentencing phase of convicted Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Prosecutors demanding the death penalty for a man they're calling, quote, "unconcerned, unrepentant and unchanged."

[09:10:08] Jurors seeing an image of Tsarnaev, flipping off a security camera in his cell three months after the attack. In the meantime, victims and their family members making gut-wrenching statements to the court. One woman, Celeste Corcoran, telling jurors about the day she lost her legs, saying, quote, "Our whole world just exploded. I unfortunately remember every single detail. I remember thinking I wanted to die. The pain was too much."

Alexandra Field is live at the courthouse this morning.

Tell us more, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I think that everyone in that courtroom could feel just a sliver of the pain that she described and that is the intention of the prosecution in this, the penalty phase of the trial. They want jurors to feel that pain in whatever way it's possible. They also want to show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted bomber, as someone who has shown no remorse.

Celeste Corcoran said that she was in so much pain she wanted to die until the mom in her kicked in and that's when she fought to live.

We also heard from Gillian Reny, an 18-year-old woman at the time. She was standing near the finished line when the bombs went off. The courtroom was shown a very powerful image of that young woman laying on the pavement, her mother hovering over her daughter's crumpled body, the two of them fighting for her life. She testified yesterday with tears in her eyes. Then prosecutors showed a video, we want to warn you that it is graphic, it is disturbing, and I'm going to pause for a moment so that everyone can hear what the jury heard when that video played.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss, are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me your hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Those are the screams that were heard on Boylston Street in the moments after that bomb exploded. That is just a glimpse of the chaos. It was an incredibly emotional moment in the courtroom, Carol, as that video played. Jurors just absorbing that blood curdling sound of those screams, the helplessness out there on the street.

Part of this trial, this penalty phase of the trial, is about bringing in survivors to testify about the enduring agony and pain that they still suffer from. And part of this is also about hearing from survivors who lost loved ones on that day. We heard victim impact statements from the family of Krystle Campbell, her brother and her father have both already testified about what it's like to live without the 29-year-old woman who was killed that day -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alexandra Field, reporting live from Boston this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a country in ruins and an ally ceasefire in question. We'll have the latest on the high stakes tug- of-war over Yemen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:15] COSTELLO: Less than one full day after Saudi Arabia announced the end of its month-long air strikes in Yemen, it unleashed a new attack on rebel fighters. Also today, U.S. launching drone strikes on militants. This comes after the showdown at sea with Iran. U.S. and coalition ships want to prevent Iran from delivering weapons to those rebels who have toppled the U.S.-backed government.

President Obama on MSNBC breaks from his handlers and concedes, yes, this is a strong message that Washington is sending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we've said to them is, is that if there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that's a problem. And we're not sending them obscure messages. We send them very direct messages about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And Iran is also speaking with extraordinary bluntless.

So, let's head to Iran's capital and CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.

Hi, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Yes, the Iranians saying there's distrust between themselves and United States. As far as those ships in Yemen are concerned, they said they never had any desire to move their ships close to the waters off Yemen, they say the ships are on an anti-piracy mission and they also deny that they ever supply the Houthis with any sort of weapons. That's, of course, a message that the U.S. doesn't necessarily buy into, which is of course one of the reasons why those U.S. vessels are out there in the first place.

Nevertheless, there are some here in Iran's establishment who say with the nuclear negotiations going on there could be an improvement in the relations. However, I spoke to the top commander of Iran's ground forces and he says at this point in time, there simply is too much trust for that to happen. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. AHMAD REZA POURDASTAN, COMMANDER OF IRANIAN GROUND FORCES (through translator): At the moment, we consider the United States to be a threat to us because its policies and actions are threatening to us. We would like the U.S. to change its rhetoric and tone of voice, so that our nation could have more trust in U.S. military leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Meanwhile, as far as the Yemen conflict is concerned, the Iranians are saying they would like aid deliveries to resume as fast as possible. I was actually in the aid center yesterday and they said they haven't been able to deliver anything for a very long time.

But it certainly is, Carol, an absolutely complex diplomatic situation between the U.S. and Iran right now, where on the one hand, you have the confrontation around the Yemen conflict, and you have the whole thing with ISIS as well, and then you have the nuclear negotiations with the two sides trying to make headway, it really, really is a very interesting time to be here in Tehran.

COSTELLO: It's an interesting way to put it, interesting time.

Frederik Pleitgen, reporting live from inside Iran this morning.

I want to bring in now Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. The Florida Republican is the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning.

REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R), FLORIDA: Thank you, Carol. It's a pleasure.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman, you released a statement on your Web site saying the United States must do more to restore stability or risk Yemen becoming the next Syria. How do we prevent that?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, I think that we need to send a clear signal to Iran. I don't think that the president, what he just said on your program, is doing the right thing. I think that while we negotiate this weak nuclear deal, Iran is playing us like fools so they take advantage of this and that's why they are doing these military operations.

You know, other countries and other allies, they see what we are doing with Iran, with this nuclear deal, we are saying, oh, we are going to have the toughest inspections possible, and everybody knows that's not true, and we're going to put back sanctions, and the snap-back sanctions where -- if Iran doesn't comply.

[09:20:03] Well, look what has happened in the past few weeks. Russia just said they will sell Iran surface to air missiles, and China said they will help Iran build five nuclear plants, and all of this is going on while we negotiate with Iran. So, and Iran thinks we are weak and are not taking us seriously, and that's why they are flexing their muscle off the shore.

COSTELLO: The president said that he has communicated with Iran in no uncertain terms not to provide arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen. There are U.S. warships off the coast of Yemen, ready to intercede if Iran attempts to do that.

What stronger message should the United States send to Iran when it comes to Yemen?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, I hope that that message is well-received, but this is the track record of the president --

COSTELLO: Well, it's not being well received because you just heard Iranian military officials saying Iran considers the U.S. to be a threat. So, what does the United States -- what message does it need to send to appear stronger and calm things down, I guess?

ROS-LEHTINEN: This is the same president who said we're going to dismantle the Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Iran now sees that is not true. This is the same president that said he has the toughest sanctions and yet we are lifting all of the sanctions and we see the belligerence playing out in the Middle East.

So, the president's track record of being a tough guy and being believed, there's a lot of land between what he says and what he actually does. This Iranian deal is, I think, a good framework for what the president's folly has been in the Middle East.

We talk a lot. We say red lines in Syria, if you use chemical weapons we are going to do this, A, B, and C, and we don't do it, and chemical gas is used again.

And here in Yemen, we are talking a big game and Iran sees what we have done in the nuclear deal is a good framework for what President Obama says is different from what we actually do.

COSTELLO: Right. I think many people would agree with your criticisms. But, again, what should the United States do to stop what is happening in Yemen? Because you know the Obama administration urged the Saudis to stop the airstrikes for a while, but it stopped for a time, but it started up again today.

So, Saudi Arabia is not listening to the United States. So what should the United States do?

ROS-LEHTINEN: What we should have done is first of all given the Saudis the intelligence on the very first day of the aerial attacks, so that they would not have the civilian casualties. We should encourage our allies to keep the attack on ISISL.

Saudis should be told keep doing what you are doing, and not stop what you are doing, and Jordan said they are taking action, and we should encourage our allies to take up the fight and extinguish ISIL instead of sending mixed messages. One day, it's yes, we encourage you to do it, but we're not going to share intelligence with you the next day, we encourage to take action, but we're not going to give you the military hardware and the intelligence you need to really secure the ground.

So, I think this administration has a schizophrenic policy when it comes to fighting ISIL. Our allies see this weakness, and that's why you've go this Iran flexing its muscles, and they don't believe you will go through with it, and I think that we should, for example, ISIL with the Kurds? Where were we with the Kurds? We should have been sending them arms and training more. Now, the training mission is almost at a standstill, we're not doing enough.

COSTELLO: All right. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

ROS-LEHTINEN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, John Hinckley has spent the last 30 years of his life in a mental hospital, after attempting to assassinate President Reagan. But there is word this morning he could be released. Sunlen Serfaty live in Washington. Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, a federal judge in the next few minutes will start hearing the arguments whether John Hinckley would potentially be released under near permanent status, potentially living full time in Williamsburg, Virginia. I'll have details coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:58] COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Happening now in Washington, John Hinckley, Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate President Reagan is back in court as a judge considers whether to allow him more freedom from the mental hospital. He's lived in for more than 30 years.

Sunlen Serfaty is in Washington to tell us more about that.

Good morning.

SERFATY: Good morning to you, Carol. Yes, this hearing could give John Hinckley more freedom than he already has. It's expected that his lawyers will ask the federal judge today to move him to near permanent status away from the mental institution where he has been living for the last decades.

Over the past few years, since late 1990s and early 2000s, Hinckley has slowly been gaining freedom and more time away from the institution, and part of a phrase program to reintroduce him to society, and right now, he is allowed 17 days out of the month away from the hospital, and he has been living during that time at his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia. It's a golf community where he has been moving within the community like any other member, and he's been spotted driving his Toyota, going to movie theaters, going to art classes, and hitting the Wendy's in town as part of this reintroduction into society.

Now, Patty Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan, she's been very outspoken, Carol, about her opposition to him being released in some sort of permanent status, away from the mental institution, posting to her Web site that it just feels wrong -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Joining me now, Arthur Laffer, a former economic adviser to President Reagan.

Welcome, sir.

ARTHUR LAFFER, FORMER ECONOMIC ADVISER TO PRESIDENT REAGAN: Thank you very much, Carol, if I may call you that.

COSTELLO: You may, and thank you so much for being with us this morning. LAFFER: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

COSTELLO: You worked in the Reagan administration during both of Reagan's terms and also all his campaigns. Tell me about your time in the White House and that horrific day.

LAFFER: Well, that horrific day, I mean, you just remember, I'm not a lawyer, nor am I psychiatrist, but I did work very, very closely with Jim Brady and Ronald Reagan and loved them both very much.