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New And Disturbing Revelations In Bill Cosby Abuse Saga; Trump Not Backing Down; Tennessee Shooter Battles Depression; Martin O'Malley Issues Apology; Terrifying Shark Attack Caught On Camera During South African Surfing Competition. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 19, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:11]FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The "Arizona Republic" reports some homes and businesses were damaged and RVs and other vehicles were swept away. The flooding even washed out one part of one road. So far, there are no reports of any major injuries.

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

Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, Bill Cosby admits in a deposition to pursuing younger women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not just an interview. This is something that he said knowing that he had to tell the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Details on the court documents describing his sexual pursuit, the drugs and how he tried to keep it all under wraps from his wife.

Plus, Donald Trump not dropping out and not backing down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm certainly not pulling out. I'm leading in many states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Trump even tweeting today that it's Senator John McCain who should apologize.

Plus, a competive surfer truly shaken up by a surprise in the water right there. How he fought off a shark that was within inches of his board. The whole thing caught on tape.

Hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with Donald Trump. The Republican presidential candidate is refusing to back down today. Trump says he does not owe John McCain an apology after saying the Arizona senator is not a war hero. Joining me right now from the White House is CNN Sunlen Serfaty. Sunlen, Trump remained defiant as he made the rounds on the morning talk shows.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. He really is defiant here. He's making clear that he's not backing down from those comments. And he really spent most of the day digging in even more, offering no apologies whatsoever and really rejecting calls from other Republicans that he should drop out of this race. Here's more of what Trump said on ABC's this week earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you owe John McCain an apology?

TRUMP: No, not at all. Actually, if you look at Sheryl Atkinson's report last night. Four times she said I said perfectly I said whatever it was and it was absolutely fine and she thought the press was covering me very, very unfairly and she stated that strongly and I respect her as a reporter and somebody that a lot of other people respect also. And very importantly, I got a standing ovation.

The biggest ovation I had all weekend by far. When I left the room it was a total standing ovation. It was wonderful to see. Nobody was insulted. What happened was later on, the Republican candidates, some of whom are registering one percent and zero and they're very upset that I am leading the polls by actually a nice margin, they're extremely upset. And they were extremely upset when the Nevada numbers just came out. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There seems to be a pattern, Mr. Trump, when you're criticized or attacked, you often respond with name calling, using terms like dummy, loser, total losers on Twitter and elsewhere. You even demean some people's physical appearance. Is that something you would continue doing if you were president? Isn't that language beneath the office of the president?

TRUMP: I don't think - look, when people attack me, I let them have it back. You say physical appearance, it's my hair, but people are constantly attacking my hair. I don't see you coming to my defense. My hair is just fine. But I don't see you coming to my defense. But if I say something about somebody else - yesterday I mentioned - somebody was saying McCain's a smart man. I said, really, he graduated last in his class in Annapolis. OK. So, you know, people laughed when I said it. A lot of people doesn't know that.

I'm very disappointed. I understand John McCain. I backed John McCain - raised I think a million dollars for John McCain. When he let us down he ran for the president and lost to Obama. Let us down. I wasn't thrilled with that. But I will say what I want to say. Maybe that's why I'm leading in the polls.

People are tired of hearing politicians and pollsters telling the politicians exactly what to say. And believe me, this whole thing was brought up by a lot of the people that are competing against me currently that aren't even registering in the polls because people are tired of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever said anything you regret?

TRUMP: Yes, I have on many occasions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us a few of those?

TRUMP: No, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do that, Martha. I wouldn't do that. It's not the appropriate time. But certainly I have said things that I could have held back. But not that often. Surprisingly not that often. But certainly there have been occasions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:05:00]

SERFATY: Now, many have been coming to the defense of Senator John McCain and his service to the nation. A senator, a former Navy fighter pilot. He was shot down and prisoned, tortured in a Hanoi prison for five years. He refused early release and then later went onto earn the Purple Heart. But certainly this controversy was really given a lot of the Republican opponents of Trump's an opening. An opening that some one were really desperate for to highlight their criticism of Trump and increase that criticism even more than they have in the past. Some saying that these comments should disqualify him from the Republican race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not just absurd, it's offensive. It's ridiculous and I do think it is a disqualifier as commander in chief.

FMR. GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Until Mr. Trump apologizes directly to John McCain and also to the veterans of this country, I don't think he has the character or the temperament to hold the highest position in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And the RNC who rarely gets involved in any sort of primary battles like this, they did come out and they directly criticized Trump for this comment saying that comments like that have no place in the Republican Party.

We still have not heard from Senator John McCain. He's been silent on this since Trump made those controversial comments. But Fred, his daughter, Megan McCain said she is disgusted by Trump's rhetoric.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much from the White House.

All right. We are also following new developments in the Bill Cosby saga. His publicist telling CNN today no comment in regards to what some are calling very startling revelations from Cosby himself. The comedian reveals in his own towards in a 2005 deposition that he pursued younger women for sexual relationships and he obtained the sedative Quaaludes to give to the women, all while trying to keep this secret from his wife.

This new information was originally reported by the "New York Times," CNN has now obtained a copy of the full transcript of the deposition Cosby gave a decade ago. It is a civil suit filed by one of hi accusers and that case was settled. CNN is currently going through the 1,000-page deposition now.

CNN's Jean Casarez joining us live from New York with more on this. You've been on this story from the very beginning. You're also trying to pore through all of these pages. What more is being revealed?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's so descriptive. He says many, many things. His attorney stops him from answering many questions at least initially before a judge determined he had to answer them back in 2005.

But this was the civil case that Andrea Constand brought. The alleged victim 2006 but there were many Jane Does who were alleged victims that they said we will support you and we will testify as witnesses. So this deposition goes into many facts about the Jane Does. We want to read you one thing that we just saw from the deposition.

This is the question from the victim's attorney, "what was your relationship with her?" "We had sex and we had dinners and sex and rendezvous." "What are rendezvous?" Rendezvous is when you call somebody and say do you want to be at such and such, and they say yes, and you go there. Is there sexual contact associated with the rendezvous? There was with Jane Doe every time.

And then goes on to say that at one point he didn't want the rendezvous any more because he moved on. Well, had you decided to having extra marital affairs? No, was the answer of Bill Cosby.

And then in regard to another Jane Doe, he says you began talking about her career and asking about her father who died of cancer. Do you remember that? "Yes," he said, "I remember that." "Did you ask her those questions because you wanted to have sex with her?" "Yes, I did," Bill Cosby said.

And in relation to Andrea Constand, who sued (INAUDIBLE). He says that when she got angry and got upset, that he decided that he would try to pay for her education then his wife wouldn't find out and that would then allow him to continue on with his life the way he wanted it.

But also we have to bring out that never in this deposition at this point does he admit to any criminal behavior at all. He says it all was consensual. He admits to sex, he admits to drugs with the women. Also at one point he says he didn't take the drugs himself, but the woman took the drugs all the time, trying to keep it behind his wife's back, never having full sexual relations with these women he said because he didn't want anyone to fall in love with him. It was just joyful, fun, playful sexual activity.

WHITFIELD: So then, Jean, you know, these admissions then with other women, some of what you just read out, even though some of it didn't necessarily involve any alleged criminal activity, why didn't that branch out to other civil suits since there were names just perhaps they weren't, you know - they weren't all included. You mentioned Jane Does. But there were people associated with these admissions. Why was it just this one case that resulted in a settlement?

CASAREZ: I think that's a question that the defense would probably ask. That will probably be a part of the defense in some of the civil suits that have now sprung up now. There was another civil suit a year later after Andrea Constand.

[16:10:05]

But she was really the one that came out and filed that suit. Remember, there weren't criminal charges brought in 2005 because she had waited a while. District attorney said, "I don't have the evidence." So criminal charges could not be filed.

Now there is an investigation with the Los Angeles Police Department that prospectively there could be criminal charges if the statute of limitations has not run from a 2008 potential case. But, that's right, a lot of these women told CNN, they kept it inside, they didn't tell anyone because they thought they were all alone.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jean Casarez, thank you so much. Powerful stuff.

All right. When we come back, our political panel weighing in on the fallout from Donald Trump after he questioned Senator John McCain's status as war hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Donald Trump says he doesn't owe Senator John McCain an apology. This morning on ABC's "This Week," Trump refused to walk back his comment yesterday stating that John McCain is not a war hero. Instead, he argued, Trump argued McCain is the one who should apologize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This all started, Martha, when we had thousands and thousands of people in Phoenix, Arizona, who by the way are devastated by illegal immigration, something I'm very proud to have brought to the forefront. We have thousands of people and he said, "they're all crazies." He called them crazies. Frankly, I think he owes them an apology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. With me to talk more about this, back with me, columnist and author Ellis Henican from New York and from Dallas, CNN political commentator, Ben Ferguson because I so rudely interrupted you guys earlier.

So Ellis, how about you first. Because you were about to make the point about, you know, just nobody controls Trump, only Trump controls Trump. But at the same time, look at the poll numbers. He continues to rise to the top even though he would make remarks that would be so inflammatory that would insult and offend so many.

[16:15:05]

ELLIS HENICAN, COLUMNIST: Clearly, there is an audience in the Republican electorate for bigotry and stupidity, right. I mean, he has been talking like this for years. This is nothing new. I mean, his opinions are very garden variety Trump.

Frankly, I wish that some of the other Republican candidates in the race had spoken up at some of the other dumb stuff the guy has said. I didn't hear so much complaining when he called Mexicans rapists, right? And when he was talking about the president of the United States being born in Africa. I mean, (INAUDIBLE) problem for these guys, only when a senior Republican senator is besmirched when all these guys get all outraged.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, Ben, if that will present a problem because at first, many candidates didn't want to say too much, only, especially after what was said yesterday did guns come out ablazing so to speak with Lindsay Graham saying Trump crossed the line and the RNC is saying in very definitive terms, there's no place in the party for comments like that. But then I wonder, will there be kind of some backlash that some candidates weren't stronger in their opposition of some of the things that he said that's offensive?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Let's put it in perspective. It's like Hillary Clinton did not respond to Bernie Sanders for weeks on end because she didn't really want to acknowledge him as a legitimate candidate. Both sides did the same thing with the crazy in their primary.

You have Donald Trump.

WHITFIELD: OK. But what does that mean for the voting electorate though.

FERGUSON: Let me finish.

WHITFIELD: Voters want to hear something from someone.

FERGUSON: Right. I understand. That's why I said earlier, Donald Trump filled a void. There was no one else that is coming out in big and bold ways in the GOP primary because they're running actual campaigns.

Early on, you don't want to have missteps. You want to get your campaign up and running. You want to go to early primary states. You want to get it going in all 50 states. You want to raise money. Now is not the time to go out there and throw bombs. So Donald Trump was able to basically to grow into something because Hillary Clinton was doing the same thing, being very quiet. Going up and setting up an organization in all 50 states. That's what real campaigns do.

WHITFIELD: Do you see these very similar? These are parallels here?

HENICAN: Here's the problem. This guy's leading the polls. He's not some whack job you can just ignore and pretend he isn't there. This is a guy who is truly dominating the campaign, right? His agenda has become the campaign agenda. He's at the top of virtually every national poll. He's got a very prominent place at the debate. I mean, if you're running against him, don't you have to stand up before it is that he does something - he just attacks some local guy that you care about.

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: Let's be fair. We started seeing after Donald Trump started to rise in the poll, you saw all of the GOP candidates start to then make comments about Donald Trump. I mean, in reality, you don't want to deal with Donald Trump because he's not a guy that other GOP candidates are saying -

WHITFIELD: Does it make it look like the other candidates are almost afraid to even say something - afraid to get into a fight with him?

HENICAN: Exactly. That's exactly it, Fred.

FERGUSON: No, no, no. But hold on, in politics you don't always acknowledge the crazy in the room. You don't always acknowledge the guy echoing at the back of the room.

HENICAN: He's winning in the polls.

FERGUSON: Look at Donald Trump that exact way. And let's also put the lead into perspective. We're not talking about 40 percent or 30 percent. We're talking 17 percent. And we are more than a year away from people going out and voting. So let's keep this in perspective. Seventeen percent is not a mandate.

WHITFIELD: Ellis, last word.

HENICAN: Ben, here's the other problem. Most of the candidates don't really have very big policy differences with Donald, right? I mean, most of these views he's expressed are pretty mainstream. I mean some of the language, some of the personal attacks are off the farm. But I mean, his views on immigration are no different from the views in the party. And so how do you separate yourself from the rhetoric -

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: They're different - hold on.

WHITFIELD: So you think it's more -- FERGUSON: As a republican - as a actual republican, a conservative,

there are multiple candidates that have come out and said, Donald Trump does not represent what I believe on immigration. Jeb Bush is a prime example of that. You can also get Scott Walker as a prime example. You also have people like Ted Cruz that say "I do not agree with him."

So let's not act like Donald Trump who has given (INAUDIBLE) Hillary Clinton just like everybody else.

WHITFIELD: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So Ben and Ellis, I have to interrupt you again. This is very fascinating. I love hearing from both of you. But we're going to have to leave it right there.

All right. This time I wasn't as rude about my interruption. All right. You all have a great Sunday.

Coming up, the family of the Chattanooga gunman revealing new details about his mental state. Those details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:23:22]

WHITFIELD: A somber day in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Family members and friends are mourning the loss of five service members killed on the rampage on the military recruiting centers last week. They gathered today to place flowers, notes and flags at makeshift memorials.

The mother of one of the victims, Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith, was overcome with emotion.

Meanwhile, we're learning new information about the shooter. The family of Mohammad Abdulazeez is revealing details about his mental state. CNN's Boris Sanchez is on the story and live for us from Chattanooga, what more are we learning, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Just a few moments ago, we had a rolling vigil come through the memorial. Hundreds of motorcycles revving their engines followed by hundreds of vehicles waving flags and yelling out cheerful slogan and hoping to give support to the families of those lost.

Among them, as you mentioned, Paula, the mother of Randall Smith, the sailor that was shot on Thursday and passed away early yesterday morning. She was visibly emotional when she arrived and she was overwhelmed when she saw a photo of her son in the memorial. I got a chance to speak with her. She told me that she was overwhelmed by the amount of support she has seen here and the crowd, but then she was distraught also when speaking about how her family was responding to the loss. We're also hearing for the first time from the family of the shooter, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez. His family putting out a statement saying that "they wanted to offer condolence to all the families affected in the shooting." Also writing quote "there are no words to describe our shock, horror and grief. The person who committed this horrible crime was not the son we knew and loved. For many years, our son suffered from depression. It grieves us beyond belief to know that his pain found expression in this heinous act of violence."

[16:25:07]

Something investigators are looking at now is whether or not he had any ties with terror organization, whether or not this was an act of jihad but also his mental state, potentially whether or not that depression may have led him down the road to do something extreme like this. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Boris what about this text message to a friend?

SANCHEZ: Right. We confirmed today with officials that the shooter sent a text message to a friend shortly before the shooting. In conversation, he writes "whosoever shows enmity to a friend of mine, then I have declared war on him." That's a quote from a holy Islamic text attributed to the prophet, Mohammed.

Officials tell us it's important to note that they don't believe there was any forewarning or indication that that statement was exactly about a warning or a shooting that was coming. Because in the context of the conversation it didn't necessarily apply that way. They say it's a small piece in trying to look at a bigger picture of the gunman's possible motive.

WHITFIELD: All right. Boris Sanchez, thank you so much in Chattanooga. Appreciate it.

Let's talk more about this. With me now, licensed psychologist Eric Fisher. Authorities looking for a motive saying so far they have found nothing conclusive that foreshadowed the shootings. But now you're listening to, you know, all kinds of analysis about texts or even the family's observations about depression.

This really seems like a case that we really may never know what motivated this person or in your view what things need to be evaluated further in order to better understand what may have motivated him.

ERIC FISHER, LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST: Right. And yesterday we talked about radicalization and how he must have been a radicalized Muslim. Today, we're talking about depression and could it have been depression that drove him to do this. Doing these things from a Monday morning quarterback thing is difficult. What we have to look at is that here's another issue where somebody obviously had emotional issues.

What I take exception to in the parents' statement was that the person who committed this crime was not the son we knew. I'm sorry to that family. That was your son. And the issue you have to see - WHITFIELD: So you're saying there were signs, there were things maybe people didn't know how to decipher or understand them?

FISHER: There were things in the statement the family made. The person who committed these crimes, so they're not potentially owning the signs, they're not owning the behaviors. If they knew he was depressed, as a parent there's a responsibility you have no matter what age your child is to do your best.

WHITFIELD: So you see a conflict in what's being said. They recognize that he wasn't the same, but at the same time, they're saying the actions he took, this is not demonstrative of the person we knew.

FISHER: Right. It's not the person they wanted to know but we have our ideal, our real and our feel self. Our ideal self is the one we show the world. Throughout his upbringing, he may have been trained to show his ideal self. His real is the feel is how he felt inside. If it wasn't OK for him to show weakness or pain or hurt or he only showed that in certain circumstances, he had a very divided self.

His way to potentially get peace with Allah according to what was thrown out there by some very irresponsible clerics who were trying to get people to have terrorist activities in the United States, was that you can be good with Allah from the last day of Ramadan, you harm people.

WHITFIELD: Of course, we haven't heard enough about that end of it, who and what were the influences for him.

FISHER: Right.

WHITFIELD: At the time from the family's perspective and even the friends who have spoken about him, the common thread is no one says that they saw anything exhibited in him that could allow them to believe that he had this potential, that he would unload weapons, that he would kill innocent people.

FISHER: Right. That's where, in most situations, you don't see that. In a lot of the situations that make the news, you don't have warning and you don't see these things. That's the tragedy, but also that's why it's so important to make sure that you're staying in touch with your kids, make sure we're building stronger communities, make sure that we have these communications and stop stigmatizing mental health issues. They happen and it's something we all have to deal with as communities. So we're not doing this to a few times a year.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eric Fisher, thanks to much. Appreciate it.

FISHER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, disturbing new details and new legal questions emerging from the Bill Cosby deposition. Our attorneys and Eric Fisher will be back for that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [16:32:45]

WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to follow new developments in the Bill Cosby saga. Earlier this afternoon, his publicist told CNN no comment in regards to what some are calling startling revelations from Cosby himself. The comedian reveals in his own words in a 2005 deposition that he pursued younger women for sexual relationships, and he obtained the sedative Quaaludes to give to the women, all while trying to keep it secret from his wife. This new information was originally reported by the New York Times, CNN now has a copy of the full transcript of the deposition Cosby by gave a decade ago in a civil suit filed by one of his accusers. CNN is currently going through the 1,000-page deposition.

I want to bring in HLN Legal Analyst, Joey Jackson, and CNN Commentator and Legal Analyst Mel Robbins.

All right, good to see both of you, Andrea Constand, she was the woman one who accused Cosby in this deposition. She was present in large part while he was in this deposition and this case settled out of court. Mel, I'd love to hear your point of view as to how you believe this deposition that was secret, that was sealed for a very long time, now it is unsealed, how and why would that happen?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it would happen -- actually it was kind of a little technicality. The court recorder who was sitting in the deposition taking down a word-for-word testimony actually had a copy of it. So they were able to legally get a copy because it was already out in the public. There's a presumption if you're going to keep a document private, you're going to go to extreme lengths to do so. And so the attorneys were able to petition with a subpoena very simply to get a copy of it -- this 1,000-page transcript was right underneath everybody's noses the entire time, Fred and Joey.

WHITFIELD: So do you think this opens the door for any other kind of legal road?

ROBBINS: I really don't. I think it has -- in some respect, I liken it to the Ray Rice video. We all knew darn well what happened in that elevator. It's just startling to see it. And it's startling to hear Bill Cosby's testimony as you read it and you're lying and you read it 1,000 papers, saying, yes, I gave women Quaaludes. Then he's quick to say Fred, but that was like giving somebody a drink. And so he doesn't really say anything that we didn't already know. And here's the deal. Unless somebody comes forward with new allegations in California, be it 2008, in New York it would be 2006 moving forward, there were going to be no criminal charges. There's one pending investigation in Los Angeles that still has to be resolved. Otherwise, all we have right now are the deformation suits, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so I wonder Joey, would there be any repercussions for Andrea Constand even though she's not the one to release this deposition but because the case was settled, often what comes with that is those involved wouldn't talk about the matter?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Sure. You know, Fredricka, interestingly enough, and the judge mentioned this when he made an earlier opinion when he released information about the case because certainly we had our hands on some information about it early in terms of the deposition. And the judge said this, the judge said in the event that you wanted me to seal it as part of the agreement that the parties had, you could have come to me at that time and made that request and I would have made a ruling. To the extent that you did not do so, you know what, I have a right and an obligation -- there's a right of public access in any event under the law in terms of people who want to look and evaluate, you know, discovery information, things that are in court documents.

And so the judge basically released it. Here, we don't really have Andrea Constand speaking about it. We have members of the public, the A.P. and others who have an interest in it. And as a result of that it subpoenaed, it's out there and so I don't think there are any repercussions for Andrea Constand. I think she honored her obligations under the agreement. To the extent that everyone else is talking about it now, that has nothing at all to do with any liability or breach of contract on her part.

WHITFIELD: And then Mel, in that deposition, one of the attorneys says in the attorney's view that Cosby showed to be very cavalier and very manipulative and how might that kind of coloring of his character by way of this deposition impact, say, the deformation suit and any other pending cases that are continuing to be investigated?

[16:37:17]

ROBBINS: You know, it's an excellent question. I mean, one of the things that come through in what you're referring to is her attorney flat out said on the record to Cosby, wow, you're pretty cavalier about this whole thing because it's clear he had a pattern of practice of targeting women, of being a serial philanderer for sure. Many us of believe that he's a serial rapist, but that he would be drugging them. He was very nonchalant about it. Admitted he was paying women off. I think it was stunning to see somebody that bold about the allegations.

Now, he did not admit that he drugged them against their will and he did not admit that he raped anybody. But the general nature of his behavior was very serial and he was doing it all the time. Now here's the interesting twist, how could this come in the defamation case, well the only defense in the defamation case -- other than the fact that I didn't say anything is the truth. And so he's already raised -- Cosby's team has raised self-defense as one of the legal arguments in their motion to dismiss the defamation case. If they're raising truth as a defense, I would imagine that they're going to be able to cross-examine Bill Cosby and use this transcript to try to impeach him. So it could get really, really ugly.

WHITFIELD: All right and Joey, last word, quickly.

JACKSON: Sure. I really -- as much as you want relief for the victims here, because of the statute of limitations, it's very hard. And as we talked about the remedies are limited. And in the defamation claims, there are so many problems with them. The first of which is that it's not Cosby so much saying they're lies, it's his handlers, and it's his lawyers. So to what extent is he accountable, and then the other issue relate to of course reputation. Many people believe the victims in light of Cosby's own words. And so if there's any reputation that's tarnished, it's his. And so therefore as much as you want to see the victims in this case get their day in court, get justice, and him to pay for what he's done, I think it may be very unlikely moving forward that that happens, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joey Jackson, Mel Robbins, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

ROBBINS: Good to see you both.

JACKSON: Our pleasure, thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:00]

WHITFIELD: Democratic Presidential Candidate, Martin O'Malley is apologizing for saying, "All lives matter at a town mall for liberal activists in Phoenix." He said it in response to dozens of demonstrators who stormed to the Presidential Town Hall, shouting black lives matter. O'Malley says didn't intend to appear to minimize the importance of blacks killed by police by his comment. The protestors also questioned Presidential Candidate, Bernie Sanders about police brutality. CNN Politics Senior and Digital Correspondent, Chris Moody was there when the protests unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Demonstrators have just taken over O'Malley's time on stage here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say her name!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say her name!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say her name!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an important message.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So right now here today we want to take a moment to acknowledge the lives lost specifically the black women's lives that are lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I die in police custody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I die in police custody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call my mom first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call my mom first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This issue is so important. Black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many black people have killed police officers this year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to respond to the call of your question as best I can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want an actual conversation to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Specifically, I believe every police department in America should have to report in an open and transparent and timely way all police-involved shootings, all discourtesy complaints, and all brutality complaints.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted the candidates to talk about black people who had been killed by police in America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say her name!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted them to say their names on camera, on stage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A couple more names...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wanted them to address what they see as widespread institutional racism throughout the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our lives can't wait!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For a lot of them they did not seem satisfied by what they saw, while Senator Sanders was speaking, a lot of them just walked out on him right before he was finished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on, hold on!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, black lives of course matter. I spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and for dignity. But if you don't want me to be here, that's ok.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're on stage with presidential candidates, but you weren't necessarily invited to be here, what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The program itself and the structure of the conference weren't really lending itself to this very important conversation. I came away with the impression that, you know, they have a lot of homework to do and I hope that they're ready to really sit down and listen and talk to the communities and come up and build their platform with these communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After what happened today, he came and spoke to a small gathering of Latino activists that are connected to the conference and he revisited some of the questions about racial injustice and inequality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you see addressing racial justice?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I could tell you that I had a magical formula on how to end racism. It's gone on in this country from before it was America. We have to figure out the goal I think that we all share. I would hope that all decent-minded Americans share. Its how do we create a society which ends discrimination? How do we best deal with racism in America? Tell me. I'm asking questions here. We are making some progress, but we've got to accelerate that progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that was CNN Chris Moody reporting.

All right, coming up, a competitive surfer attacked by a shark, you are not going to be believe the video, right there, there's more of it, straight ahead.

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[16:48:03]

WHITFIELD: All right, everyone in agreement here, a terrifying moment during a major surfing competition in South Africa right there. Cameras catching a shark attacking Australian surfer, Mick Fanning a couple of times, both Manning and the shark were under water. Rescuers on jet skis were there within seconds -- is it Fanning or Manning -- we got a misspelling there, and another surfer to safety. So this surfer is ok, but visibly shaken. Listen to him relive that heart pounding encounter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK FANNING, PRO SURFER FIGHTS OFF SHARK: I felt something grab -- like got stuck in my leg. And I instantly just jumped like away. And then it just kept pounding at my board. I was kicking and screaming.

[16:53:10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See some teeth? You get some teeth?

FANNING: I just saw a fin. I didn't see the -- I was waiting for the teeth to come at me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you get a couple punches in?

FANNING: I punched it in the back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, incredible huh? Organizers say there were actually two sharks in the area. So the World Surf League commissioner called off the competition for the rest of the day, understandably. Let me bring in the Host of ABC's Ocean Mysteries, Jeff Corwin back with this. So every time you see that video, what do you think? JEFF CORWIN, ABC'S OCEAN MYSTERIES HOST: My goodness. It's like the

source of every -- every shark nightmare unfolding as this gentleman, this surfer takes on the greatest ocean-going predator. And the thing Fredricka that I can't get over is how big that shark is. I don't think -- he's in the maelstrom. He's in that moment. Something tells me, when he watches that video, he'll be changing his shorts again.

WHITFIELD: I know. He is swimming so fast. Looking at it again, you know, it kind of comes from behind him. Maybe the tail end of that board, maybe that shark got a little taste of his board, let go. I don't know. But what do you analyze as you see it? Earlier you talked about how sharks might sometimes kind of nip, taste, and then maybe they'll come back.

CORWIN: Absolutely. These animals have a tremendously highly in tuned connection to their environment. And they're smelling in their environment and they are electronically picking up waves of movement in little cells along their skin. And they're also tasting, and they do what's called a test bite. If that shark wanted to eat you, you would be in trouble. Fredricka, look at how long it is. You can see the pectoral fin in the front and then you see the back. In between that extension of shark, you've got about 10 feet. That's just the middle. So this was a monstrously big shark. If it wanted to eat this surfer, it could have done some serious damage.

WHITFIELD: Yeah and still lucky too. You see how lucky he is on the board. He went under for a while. You don't see him. And then you see him swimming. He had the opportunity to swim and swim as fast as he could before that shark decided to come back or look for him or anything like that.

CORWIN: But you cannot out swim a shark.

WHITFIELD: No. Not happening.

CORWIN: So I think what we have here is a bit of a mistaken identity. I think the shark underneath the water which is incredibly murky as it standardly is off the coast of South Africa, it's peering up. It sees this silhouette of a fur seal. It goes in to investigate and discovers it's not its prey. Remember what he said. The shark got tangled up in his line -- connected to his surfboard. So I think we had a little confusion, a little shock on both sides. And both -- he was incredibly lucky not to have been injured but pretty terrifying.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, Jeff Corwin, thank you so much. We are so happy for Mick Fanning there. I wonder when he's going to choose to get back in the water.

CORWIN: Probably not tonight.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right, Jeff thanks so much.

And thank you everyone for joining me this afternoon, much more of the Newsroom straight ahead with Ana Cabrera.

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