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New York Prison Break; Migrant Boat Crisis; Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee Proposes America Change To Metric System; Several Republican Presidential Hopefuls Speak At Iowa Roast And Ride; Lawmaker Reaction Over Massive Computer Hacking Of U.S. Government. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 07, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:02] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST: All right. Sunlen Serfaty. Thank you so much. From Washington.

And we have so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a massive manhunt underway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are dangerous people.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Using power tools and crawling through steam pipes and tunnels, two convicted murderers pull off a daring escape from prison.

The precision of the operation -- it was truly extraordinary.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Even leaving a note saying, "Have a nice day!"

CUOMO: This is the first escape from the maximum security portion of the institution ever.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Now, hundreds of officers are on the hunt to track them down.

Plus, one-on-one with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: Our legislation makes it easy to vote but hard to cheat.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Republican presidential hopefuls hitting the trail in Iowa for the first annual ride and roast.

And protests well in Germany.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the thousands of protestors over the last few days have been campaigning to stop President Obama and the other members of the group of seven from meeting.

WHITFIELD (voiceover): Police and security officers in riot gear and on alert as world leaders gather for a major summit in Europe.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We're learning new details about the escape of two convicted murderers who escaped from a New York state prison. Governor Cuomo announced a $100,000 reward for any information leading to the capture of Richard Matt and David Sweat.

At a news conference a short time ago, state police say they are leaving no stones unturned in their manhunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. CHARLES GUESS, NEW YORK STATE POLICE: At this point, an excess of 150 leads have been developed since the escape was first reported yesterday morning. The state police (inaudible), federal investigative personnel as well as surrounding agencies are following up on each and every lead no matter where it takes us. Several aircrafts from state and federal agencies are being utilized. The state police currently have roughly 100 personnel which includes uniformed investigative and specialized units on the ground actively searching and following leads. State police continue to coordinate with several other local, state, and federal agencies.

At this time, I'd like to stress that over 250 corrections' officers and law enforcement officers are involved in the region and additional investigative services are being applied statewide and nationally.

We're leaving no stone unturned. It's been approximately 36 hours since these inmates escaped. They could be literally anywhere. Although we have notified our partners in Canada, the ports of entry across the northern border has certainly every law enforcement agency in the northeast -- they could be out-of-state but they still could be holed up here in Dannemora. We had a rapid response. We're leaving no stone unturned. We have a high presence of both ground personnel investigators and a variety of specialized assets. And most importantly, for the safety of the members of this community in Dannemora, we want to ensure that they are not here but they will be found and apprehended.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN's Polo Sandoval is live for us en route to Dannemora, New York.

So, Polo, tell us more about how it's believed these men carried out this escape.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): Hey, Fred. Good afternoon. That's right. We're still driving here through portions of upstate New York at about 70 miles south of the prison where this all happened over at Clinton county and the details that we're learning here -- some of the new details that we're learning from New York governor Andrew Cuomo now seems to suggest really at least offer more of a picture of how these two individuals, David Sweat and Richard Matt, were able to pull off this very elaborate and sophisticated escape. We know that they were actually carved through a portion of about a 24-inch brick-and-mortar wall -- the rear of their -- of their cell -- and then eventually gained access to a steam pipe. They cut out portions of the steam pipe, crawled through it, and eventually made their way out of the perimeter fencing via a manhole.

We're also learning though that really the main focus right now, Fred, is on tracking these individuals down. They're considered extremely dangerous - both of them convicted murderers. At this point, (inaudible) very close to 36 hours since they were determined to be missing from their prison cell and no sign of them yet. So state authorities now willing to offer a $100,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of these individuals or at least $50,000 per fugitive. Again, this is a -- the governor calling this a very unusual move on behalf of the state but at this point, they are very familiar with the reality that with their seven-hour headstart, they could basically be anywhere.

[16:05:06]

Fred, I do want to play back a portion of the governor's plea to the public that he made just within the last hour.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: I'm asking all New Yorkers to please make yourself part of this and we will not rest until we have these two individuals back in custody and we know that they are in a position where we can breathe easily once again.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And so, really, Fred, that the two key questions here -- obviously, how were they able to get this together? How were they able to use power tools to essentially make their way or at least cut their way out of their cell without anybody being the wiser? And then also, where are these two individuals, Fred? We do know that officials are focusing much of their search and their investigation on the part of -- on the portions of New York -- the regions of New York that they're from. I know one of them is from the western region. Another one's from the southern county of Broome, which is actually where one of the police officers was killed back in 2002 that was the case of one of these individuals has been convicted on.

So, again, many questions right now, Fred, but the main one or the main priority for investigators not just for them to really move forward with this case but also to ensure the safety of the public is where are these two men?

WHITFIELD: And then, Polo, what are the details as to how it was discovered that they were gone, that these escapees got out? I mean, we're talking 36 hours after the fact that it is right now. But at what point did authorities discover that they were missing?

SANDOVAL: And at this point, what we know is -- we have a general idea of the timeline. They were last -- by these guards had visual contact with both of these two men 10:30 p.m., Friday night. This is -- was during a head count. And then we also see typically every two hours, what authorities there in that prison consider as really what are called "master counts" in which checks only consist of observing prisoners sleeping from the outside of their cell which means throughout the night, Friday into Saturday, noticed really sort of bundles in their -- in their cells with what appeared to be hoodies on and the officials telling us that that's very normal for inmates. Many of them sleeping with their hoodies so these guards not thinking much of that. However, it was during the following headcount which was at 5:30 yesterday morning that they actually realized that these two men were missing.

So you do the math, Fred, and what's very concerning here is that that was at least seven hours from the last visual that guards had to the moment that they realized that these two individuals had made their way out of the cell.

One last detail I do want to mention, just a few moments ago, we did hear from officials (inaudible) information that suggest that some of the tools that they used were recovered -- limited tools, as they call him, but at this point, we're still trying to find out exactly what that means, were they hammers, were there chisels, picks? And of course, what happened to the so-called power tools and how did they end up in those cells?

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

All right. The leaders of the world's top economies are meeting to discuss a range of issues in Germany today and topping the agenda is what President Obama calls "Russian aggression."

Now, far from the summit, thousands of protestors are marching and facing off with police there. Demonstrators are expressing concerns about political and economic issues including poverty, capitalism, and climate change.

Joining me right now are CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta and CNN International correspondent Karl Penhaul.

So, Karl, you first, with the protests that have been planned, how are they unfolding?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the G-7 summit got underway Sunday, demonstrators turned to using different tactics from previous days. On Sunday, they broke up into much smaller groups and played cat-and-mouse with the German riot police. 17,000 police have been drafted into this region to provide security to some of the world's leaders meeting in a castle about 15 kilometers or 10 miles away from here. Some of those small groups of protestors today headed up into the mountains, trying to get to that castle, attempts that weren't successful. Other groups -- for a brief period of time -- blockaded a highway about five miles or seven or eight kilometers from the castle. That protest lasted several minutes before riot police (inaudible) came and dragged demonstrators away.

And then, just north of the town of Garmisch, protestors there tried to move on to a highway. Riot police moved in and simply encircled them. That pushed then later on in the day, another group of protestors to stage a larger demonstration down in the town center and again, we've seen riot police using a tactic that has been deemed highly controversial here in Europe -- that of cattling -- which means really corralling and herding the protestors, giving them very little movement on either side.

[16:10:06] On hot days like this, that has led to a great deal of tension but today, the protests have remained peaceful. They've remained relatively good-humored. In many ways, however, protestors feel that the police haven't allowed them freedom of movement or the right to demonstrate and because they haven't been able to even approach the gates of Castle Elmau where the G-7 leaders are meeting, it has been very difficult for them to get their voice heard too.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, (inaudible), Germany.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Karl Penhaul.

So, meanwhile, President Obama wants leaders to keep the pressure on Moscow for what he calls is aggression towards Ukraine.

Let's go now to CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

All right. So as night falls there, what's on tap for tomorrow as things get underway?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the agenda for tomorrow is very much like the agenda today, Fredricka. The president is going to be trying all that he can to keep these G-7 leaders united when it comes to applying this economic pressure, these sanctions, on Russia for its military involvement in Ukraine. And we heard the president talk about this a great deal today. He met with the German chancellor Angela Merkel who is the host of this G-7 summit. They came out of that meeting with the White House statement saying that Angele Merkel and President Obama both agree that the duration of sanctions on Russia and the duration of sanctions on Vladimir Putin will be hinged upon and tied to Russia's behavior and whether or not they respect Ukraine's sovereignty. The message being, "Russia, if you want these sanctions lifted, you're going to have to change your ways." And then he met later on in the day with the British prime minister David Cameron. The statement coming out of the British prime minister was very much the same. And so I think the president had to have been heartened by that. Of course, tomorrow is going to be different. He's going to be talking with all these G-7 leaders. And there is a little bit of -- I guess you could say -- wobbliness -- if that's a word -- in Europe right now over these sanctions because let's face it, Fredricka, they have not changed Putin's calculus. They may have applied some economic pain on Moscow and on the Russian economy but it hasn't really changed what Putin is doing in Ukraine. And so there's some in Europe who are saying, "Why are we doing this?" and the White House is saying, "Listen, these sanctions take time. They take years in some cases." They point to the case in Iran where it took years for those sanctions to bring Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. So I think all of those cases were made by the president and his team.

In addition to that, Fredricka, there is a very important meeting tomorrow. The Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi will be here for a bilateral meeting with the president, also meeting with G-7 leaders. He's coming all the way up from Baghdad and with these news t5hat perhaps Iraqi security forces have retaken the city of Baiji. That would be a big development in this fight against ISIS. I asked White House press secretary Josh Ernest about this earlier today during the briefing here that they held here in the Alps for us reporters and Ernest said that they could not confirm that at this point, that they are looking into it but that, of course, would be a positive development and of course, one reason why we're all going to be watching that meeting with Prime Minister Abadi, Fredricka. You remember that interview that our colleague Barbara Starr did with defense secretary Ash Carter when he questioned whether the Iraqis had the will to fight. Safe to say -- safe to say that there is some diplomatic pressure on the president to sort of smooth over maybe some hurt feelings, some rough edges in that relationship with the Iraqi prime minister. They did not take to that -- very well those comments very well down in Baghdad and so I assume that will be a part of the president's meeting with the Prime Minster tomorrow as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, trying to smooth out some of those ruffled feathers.

All right. Jim Acosta. Yes. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Straight ahead, a police officer in trouble for pulling his gun on a group of teenagers.

Next, what the police chief is saying about his officer's actions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:05]

WHITFIELD: All right. A developing story out of McKinney, Texas. Police there are investigating one of their own after a video surfaced showing an officer drawing his gun on apparently unarmed, pool partygoers, teenagers.

The McKinney police department says several juveniles who did not have permission to be at a community pool refused to leave and had begun fighting, Friday evening, according to officials.

Well, now, the video shows one officer aggressively rounding up the kids and he has been seen wrestling a female to the ground there -- a small crowd gathering and the officer can be seen pulling his gun out before other officers then rushed in.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the police department says after reviewing this video, it has placed the officer on administrative leave while it investigates the incident.

All right. Let's talk more about this. CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes joining us live from Washington.

So, Tom, we're looking at it for a second time today. As a former FBI assistant director, does anything more strike you? We agreed earlier that it was very disturbing and you were surprised that a gun would be pulled out when we're talking about mostly juveniles that didn't appear as though anybody was armed. But now, looking at it again, what strikes you as upsetting in your view?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCMENT ANALYST: Well, Fredricka, the whole thing's upsetting to me. And I've seen -- I've seen the long version of this, unedited, where you're not trying to blur out faces, which was on YouTube. You see much more clearly this actually makes it look worse, in fact, what's going on here. But it just appears to me that you have this one particular police sergeant who is trying to -- he's lost control of his emotions and he's yelling at everybody. You hear in the unedited version the profanity that he's using which is uncalled for in any situation but particularly this one -- the level of profanity. And I just -- I would love to hear the explanation that their chief is going to have if they hold a press conference on this. But in the meantime, I can't imagine what's it going to be to excuse some of the action taken against some of these kids. In particular -- particularly, this girl that you see.

[16:20:04] She's in a bikini. She's obviously not armed and he's got her by the hair, slams her face into the grass, gets on top of her and then he chases off after other kids. And I think what else strikes me is the other officers almost seemed to be trying to stop him, especially when he jumps up and pulls his gun out, waving it towards two other kids. They more or less come between him and those other kids. So I'm just wondering if he's their commanding officer and they're just trying to control him as much as he's trying to control the kids that are running around screaming...

WHITFIELD: Right. 'Cause those other officers -- at least in this video right here -- they seem to be responding differently. I mean, it's almost as if they're trying to figure out what's going on here too. You've got them standing there and now, there is somebody on the ground there -- not sure if they're detained or what's happening because of the blurring there but the point of view of all the officers on the scene will very much be part of the investigation. What kinds of questions are going to be asked? How will authorities be able to ascertain whether the proper or improper actions were taken?

FUENTES: Well, we're told that the whole thing starts because they're in a pool they're not supposed to be in and we don't know what exactly that situation is or if they are illegally trespassing in a public pool. But if the -- if the people responsible for that pool aren't going to press charges, they just want them taken out of the pool and disperse the party, that's fine. When I was a street cop, called to many parties, many of them much more wild than this situation where you just try to disperse it, get everybody to go home, leave the scene. You're trying to dial down the emotion, not increase it, not increase it by screaming and swearing at the people that are out there and threatening them even to the point of pulling a gun. So clearly, this officer loses control of his emotions. I think, (inaudible), just a bewildering way given the circumstance and again, we haven't heard the explanation for it. I can't imagine what it's going to be.

WHITFIELD: Right. And from what -- we can hear, it sounds like all of the other people there who were watching this - the other kids who are witnessing this - are shocked too. You don't hear any jeering or any kind of encouraging of any problems. But instead, their response -- it sounds like its shock of what's unfolding.

All right. Tom Fuentes. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

FUENTES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, 10 pregnant women among thousands pulled from the ocean today. Next, a live report on the Mediterranean migrant crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:25:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. Several rescue operations are underway right now in the Mediterranean. Ships are racing to save migrants stranded at sea. An Italian official tells CNN more than 2,000 stranded people have been rescued today. And yesterday, more than 3,000 were saved.

Joining me now is CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. So he's at the Port of Augusta in Italy.

So, Nic, you are at a port where some migrants are being taken. What are you seeing? What's their condition? And what are their stories as to why they make this desperate journey?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, the people who just arrived on this boat literally in the last half an hour or so -- the women are the first to come off. They're just coming off right now. We haven't had an opportunity to talk to them but we do know that this boat -- the MV Phoenix, an independent rescue boat operating here in the Mediterranean -- picked them up on Saturday. There are 372 migrants aboard this vessel - 366 are from Eritrea, five from Ethiopia, one from Sudan. So vast majority coming from Eritrea. We're seeing a few children coming off. One lady was carried off and put in a wheelchair. But nobody appears to be in a -- in a desperate medical condition. But the Italian authorities and the British, Spanish, the Swedish who are all out there in the Mediterranean sea today continuing to rescue people are concerned that this wave of migrants this weekend may continue, may get bigger because the weather has been good. The seas have been relatively calm. And this wave of migrants this weekend -- the biggest so far this year in a weekend, almost 6,000 people so far, Fredricka, and the rescue effort is still underway.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. All right. Nic Robertson. Desperate situation. Thank you so much.

All right. Next, the metric system and the man using it to try to beat Hillary Clinton to the Democratic nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAFEE: I had about 10 proposals and going metric was one of those.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We'll here from Lincoln Chafee on why he is going the extra kilometers for the metric system.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:27]

WHITFIELD: All right, today, we learned a little bit more about the latest Democrat to challenge Hillary Clinton in the race for President. Former Rhode Island Governor, Lincoln Chafee, clarified a controversial position that he has, taking on changing America to the metric system. Here's what he told CNN's Chief Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, on "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Governor, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it. Let's just start with what everybody is talking about out of your announcement this week and that is your pledge to turn this country to the metric system, like Europe and most of the rest of the world is using. It seems like an unusual thing in today's day and age for that to be the thing that people are taking away and perhaps unusual for that to be the thing that you're pushing so hard as your platform. Why is that?

LINCOLN CHAFEE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well the theme of my announcement was for us to wage peace in the world, for America to change the way we are acting in the world. And I labeled that waging peace and I had about ten proposals and going metric one was one of those. Of the ten proposals, better relations with Russia, better with relations our South American neighbors, no more drone strikes, no more torture, no wore warrant-less wiretapping, let' bring Snowden home, a number of proposals. This was one that part of being an internationalist. There are only two other countries that aren't metric, Myanmar and Liberia. And so, it's time for America, not only economically but symbolically to join the rest of the world.

BASH: And I have to say, just to people who are Americans who are very comfortable without the metric system, they are looking at this and saying really? Is this guy kidding me? Does he, get it?

[16:35:08]

CHAFEE: Well, I lived Canada when they went -- I was working the horserace track in Canada after graduating from college. I was up there for about seven years working on the horserace track and they went metric and it was very easy. And I know that many of the scientific community, the healthcare community they have to deal internationally, the business community, are saying this is way overdue. Ronald Reagan talked about it, others have talked about it, but now, at this point in American history, where we squandered to so much credibility with telling the rest of that we're weapons of mass destruction, we invaded another country, just so un-American, that it's time in light of the squandered credibility we have to make a symbolic gesture the rest of the world, it's also good economically. There are many benefits to it

BASH: OK, so let's talk more about your agenda to wage peace as you call it. Right now as we speak, President Obama is in Europe at the G7 Summit and he's calling for an extension of sanctions against Russia. Would you support that?

CHAFEE: Well it's unfortunate what's happened in Ukraine and Crimea and with Putin -- Vladimir Putin, at onetime, we were really working well together and it's deteriorated. I don't know about these sanctions. I should think there would be better ways of getting a rapprochement with Russia. That's so important in the world, and especially to the countries, the former soviet republic, such as Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let talk more about what Chafee had to say a lot to say there. Here with me, Democratic Strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican Strategist, Jackie Gingrich Cushman. Good to see both of you. Where do we begin? How about with the metric system, he says it makes sense economically, and symbolically, Tharon, you first is this the platform that people need to hear? Is this the one that will shake up Hillary Clinton's -- I guess run for Presidency, run for nomination?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: Well it will not shake up the run for the presidency, however you got to applaud the Senator's enthusiasm but I he's just a little delirious when it comes to suggesting that the country should turn to a metric system. It is not like countries can turn off and turns on the metric system, but the challenge that he is going to have with that argument is that study after study has shown there is no economic benefit to the U.S. to go to this metric system. So it's something that we are talking about and he is trying to get some attention, ultimately, I don't think that the country will do that.

WHITFIELD: So Jackie, does this help underscore that there is a struggle for some of the candidates to have an issue, something to resonate, to kind of stand out from the pack?

JACKIE GINGRICH CUSHMAN, FORMER ADVISER NEWT GINGRICH CAMPAIGN: Absolutely. And I think he is an interesting character. Look at him. He was a Republican Senator. He then became an independent Governor and now he is running for the Democratic nomination for President. So he is really quite a character and I think for him to stand up, I think he has very good intentions, if I was going to advise someone to run on a Presidential campaign, I would not advise him to use the metric system.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, this weekend, a number of the Republican Presidential hopeful, seven, actually spoke in Iowa at this roast and ride. This was kind of the inaugural event for a state Senator who has really become a real star there, Joanie Earnst. Among those who stood out is Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He was actually suited up. He was riding. Went full throttle, so to speak and also kind of making waves with what he has to say. He made some comments on -- if he were President, you know, would he reveal make public the nations plan as it pertains to Iraq? He says, no, you keep that kind of information close. He also said in response to this month, you know, the U.S. Supreme Court will be ruling once and for all on gay marriage, something that he has weighed in on particularly today on ABC's "This Week." He said this quote "I personally believe that marriages between one man and one woman and if the court decides, the only next approach is for those who are supporters of marriage being defined as between one man and one woman as ultimately to consider pursuing a constitutional amendment." He is making his stand on some of the issues. Is this going to help him stand out? You got now ten Republicans who have thrown their hat into the ring, Jackie.

CUSHMAN: I think a couple things that are happening. First of all, I think he did a great job in this weekend as did Rick Perry. He talked about people who were actually there on the ground but he and Perry really stood out because they were in the crowd, they were talking to people and they didn't straight that Clinton did not have -- Hillary Clinton does not have, which is trustworthiness. If you look at the pole that he released with CNN this week, her unstable ratings fell. She's no longer favorable, she's now 50 percent unfavorably.

(CROSSTALK)

CUSHMAN: I'll tell you why. If you look at trustworthiness, her whole is trustworthiness and truthfulness. If you look at people that think she's trustworthy, less than half think that, 57 percent view as un-trustworthy half the women and 2/3 are the men view Clinton as un- trustworthy. This is a huge problem for her.

[16:40:06]

WHITFIELD: How does a Scott Walker who might declare later on this month, how does a Bobby Jindal who might say something later this month out of New Orleans, Jeb Bush, in only a week and half, how do they use that to their advantage?

CUSHMAN: In terms of defining themselves, if you look at Scott Walker, he's done a great job as a governor, he's had very hard stands. He has gone directly after the unions, he's done some really hard things. They tried recalling him. Adage to win that election, he has a very solid stance. But there are -- as you said, almost a dozen candidates that are viable, not quite. And I think at this point, we have no front-runner. I think that is what makes it really exciting.

WHITFIELD: Tharon, are we talking about viability -- I mean yes to crowded field, but some are running who clearly may not have a chance, they even know it. So why do they run?

JOHNSON: Absolutely, one of the things that Jackie just mentioned there is no clear front-runner. Scott Walker has definitely spent a lot of time in Iowa, he's polling very well there but when people start getting in the race like Jeb Bush and when Rick Perry decides to really spend a lot of time in Iowa, I think going to be hard for Governor Walker to keep that lead. Also want to respond to something Jackie said about Senator Clinton. It is very early. Most of Americans know Hillary Clinton. She has got a lot of campaign left to talk about things that she is standing on. This whole notion she is not trustworthy and that you can't trust her, just a bunch of...

CUSHMAN: Polling numbers, the polling number from CNN.

JOHNSON: I think you when you start talking about trustworthiness, a lot of things that the Republicans will have to explain. Even when Governor Walker won't even really get there as far as what American people, there was a poll that came out this week showed that 58 percent of the American people support the Supreme Court constitutional right decision to allow same-sex couples to marry, so I think he is going to have to evolve when it comes to that issue.

JOHNSON: I think Clinton has a real problem, people know her and see her more, and they like her less, her numbers are falling in the poll. I think fascinating, which may not happen, because we don't have another strong Democratic candidate, I'd love to see someone else step in, whether it's a Vice President Biden, whether it's Elizabeth...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Still early -- very early.

JOHNSON: We do have good government. We have good candidates. Governor O'Malley, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Chafee jumped in so we'll have very fruitful debate on the Democratic side.

WHITFIELD: It's going to be a lot of fun. All right, Jackie, Tharon thanks to both of you, appreciate it.

CUSHMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll have much more in The Newsroom right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:52]

WHITFIELD: All right, a reaction now from lawmakers about that massive computer hack of the U.S. Government, 4 million former and current federal employees' personal information now at risk. Well today lawmakers warn the breach could really be about China laying the groundwork for an expanded cyber attack against the U.S. Sunlen Serfaty joining us now from Washington with more on the reaction, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, the chairman of the house homeland security committee -- he is sounding you the alarms, warning that he believes all of this stolen information could be used for blackmail or for recruitment for spies. Here's Representative McCaul on "Face The Nation."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: It was not done to steal credit card information and that kind of theft. It was done to get personal information on political appointees in the federal government and federal employees to exploit them so that later down the road, they can use those for espionage to either recruit spice or compromise individuals in the federal government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: The President's attending the G7 Summit in Germany and today, his press secretary said the U.S. is considering ways to punish whatever person or government was involved in this breach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Our investigators are still looking into who precisely carried out these intrusions. The option that the President put on the table for responding to these kinds of activities in the form of financial sanctions certainly is one that continues to be available to him and the administration with regard to this particular activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: The White House is not officially laying blame on who was behind this but sources say U.S. investigators do believe they can track the breach to the Chinese government. Chinese officials, Fred, have denied that they are behind this.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen Serfaty thank you so much in Washington. We will be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:30]

WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories, a woman hit by a baseball bat during a Red Sox game is expected to survive. Tanya Carpenter is still in serious condition. Carpenter was sitting along the third baseline when an Oakland player's bat shattered and then hit her in the forehead.

And British Prime Minister David Cameron says he is giving the go- ahead for his country to send an additional 125 army personnel to Iraq. Their role will be to train and support Iraqi forces. This will bring the number of British personnel in Iraq to at least 275.

And Stan Wawrinka has beaten top-ranked Novack Djokovic to win the French Open. He fought his way back after losing the first set, and then he took the next three sets. Well this it is Wawrinka's first French Open win and second grand slam title.

All right up next, still in sports, American Pharaoh wins the Triple Crown, but his most profitable days are ahead of him now. How the money will soon be rolling in.

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[16:58:11]

WHITFIELD: A day after his Triple Crown win, American Pharaoh's million dollar purse is nothing compared to how much the 3-year-old American thoroughbred will make in stud fees. About three weeks ago, Zayat Stables sold his breeding rights for an undisclosed amount, but the likely it was in the tens of millions, but the new owners will likely make back their investment because American Pharaoh could command $100,000 thousand per foal and could father up to 100 foals each year, which means he could collect up to $7.5 million in stud fees every year. Right now, no other horse is more desired than American Pharaoh. CNN Sports' Andy Scholes was at the Belmont Stakes to witness the big win.

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It was an incredible day here at Belmont Park. The crowd of more than 90,000 came here hoping to see history, hoping to see American Pharaoh become the first horse in 37 year to win the Triple Crown.

And American Pharaoh did not disappoint. He was the huge favorite coming into the ray the only question was would American Pharaoh have enough stamina to pull it off, since he was the only horse in the field to have also to run in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He not only led the race wire to wire, he was just two seconds off of Secretariat's legendary time of 2:24. American Pharaoh the new king of horse racing, Victor Espinosa becomes the oldest jockey to ever win the Triple Crown. Bob Baffert is the second oldest trainer to win it and Ahmad Zayat's dream of owning a Triple Crown winner has come true.

The atmosphere here at Belmont Park was just incredible, people who didn't know each other were embracing as American Pharaoh crossed the finish line, they were so happy that they witnessed the first Triple Crown since 1978, just the 12th one in the history of horse racing. A lot of people not cashing in these tickets, instead taking them home because now they're part of history.

[16:00:08] At Belmont Park in New York, Andy Scholes, CNN.

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WHITFIELD: Wow an exciting race to remember indeed. Hey, thank you so much for spending your afternoon with me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead.