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Candidates Visit Iowa Fair; Rumors of Gore Run; Cop Hesitates to Shoot; China Explosion. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 14, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:04] RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Randi Kaye.

We'll start where they left off.

Meat on sticks, helicopter rides with Trump and Al Gore for president rumors. This is the 2016 presidential race. And consider this the starting line of sorts, the Iowa fairgrounds, as you see it there, now a presidential battleground.

Today, Jeb Bush takes center stage there, already facing a lot of backlash over comments that he made about the success of his brother's war. Now he can't escape questions over his drop in the buckeye state. In the latest CNN poll, bush slipped from the top five in Iowa, now sitting at the middle of the Republican pact, among likely GOP caucus goers. But, he says, it's not a big deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, polls are irrelevant. During the week of the 10 days of the state fair, there will be people moving up and moving down. It's always been that way. I'll remind you that my dad in 1980 was probably an asterisk at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Well, tomorrow, the front-runners show up. I'm talking about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump hoping if his brash style doesn't win over Iowa fair goes, that his free helicopter rides will.

Joining me now, CNN political reporter Sara Murray.

So, Jeb Bush slips, Sara, but two-thirds of Iowa Republican caucus- goers still haven't made up their minds, but that means that he's got to watch every word. So, how has that been going for him?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: I would say that the results so far are mixed. Look, he did a pretty good job out here at the Iowa State Fair, gave out his e-mail address to anyone who wants to e-mail him. But the question that has been problematic for him continues to be problematic, and that's the question about his family and the Iraq War. He got it yesterday earlier on a stop in Iowa. He just still seems to sort of muddle through this answer and hasn't found a good way to sort of set himself apart from the policies of his brothers, while still being respectful of his family. And you can kind of see that struggle happening with him as he tries to answer those questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had we not invaded Iraq in the first place, we wouldn't be dealing with this ISIS problem.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, who knows. I mean, this - that's just such a, you know, complicated hypothetical. Who knows? I can't answer that. I'll tell you, though, that taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: So you got a good sense of it there. You know, he kind of gives his best answer, but really hasn't polished off exactly what he wants to say.

KAYE: And so, Sara, what's on the agenda tomorrow? I guess a lot of folks want to know, I mean, did Donald Trump end up getting approval on those helicopter rides that he wanted to give so much?

MURRAY: Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Donald Trump is going to be here. Hillary Clinton is also going to be here. And the big question is about the helicopter rides. They will be happening. They will not be happening inside the state fairgrounds. The fair put the kibosh on that. But right around the corner, Donald Trump will arrive on a helicopter and free rides for whoever's out there.

KAYE: I'm sure a lot of folks are going to be lining up there in Iowa.

Sara Murray, thank you very much.

As Bernie Sanders, a dark horse, and Joe Biden, a man not even officially in the race, close in on Hillary Clinton, other potential candidates are watching. Is Al Gore one of them? Rumors are flying today that he's considering jumping right in.

Let's talk about this with Matt Miller. He's a Clinton supporter, Democratic strategist, a former Justice Department spokesman and former aide to Eric Holder.

Matt, good to see you.

So let's talk Gore. His advisers are throwing some lukewarm water on this whole idea. But the rumors are out. I mean they're certainly out there somehow. Is this less about Al Gore, do you think, and more about how Dems see Clinton as being vulnerable?

MATT MILLER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I think it actually has more to do with, you know, the middle of the summer when rumors can take off and get around pretty quickly. They did throw lukewarm water on it initially. I think since then you've seen them throw what can only be called as cold water. I don't think it's - there's any signs - there's any indication that Al Gore is going to run at all.

And when you look at the polls, you just showed your own CNN poll, Hillary Clinton does have a commanding lead in Iowa. In New Hampshire, of course, where Bernie Sanders has represented the state next door in Congress for 25 years, it's much closer, as you would expect. But, overall, when you look at the depth of support she has both from polls and across the party, I think she's in a very good place to win the nomination.

KAYE: But getting back to Al Gore, I mean, somebody leaked this. I mean this isn't just the media making this up. So, I guess, is this just a way to drum up attention maybe on the Democratic side, I mean, or maybe is this a way maybe to get some feelers out there?

MILLER: Oh, you know, it's always hard to know where these trial balloons comes from, or whether they're actually someone that's close to Vice President Gore or someone that claims they're close but really are not. But I think those rumors you'll see wash through the system pretty quickly.

[14:05:07] And, you know, look, we know who the main candidates are on the Democratic side. There's still a chance that Vice President Biden will jump in. But we know what the field largely looks like at this point. I think it's very unlikely that Al Gore is going to be one of our candidates.

KAYE: So let's talk about the Clinton campaign because the campaign has been trying to paint Bernie Sanders as a bit of a sideshow. But I want you to look at this new poll that we have out in New Hampshire. There it is. Sanders on top with 44 percent. Hillary Clinton at 37 percent. What do you credit his rise to at this moment?

MILLER: Well, a couple things. One, the Democratic Party is a very diverse party and Bernie Sanders speaks for one faction, one wing of our party, and there are a good number of people in our party who support his message. But in specific with the New Hampshire poll, as I said a minute ago, you know, he has represented the state next door to New Hampshire in Congress for 25 years. It's not surprising that he's doing well in New Hampshire. I think you can predict that he would do well in New Hampshire.

But when you look at the polls nationally, when you look at how Hillary Clinton is doing in Iowa, when you look at how she's doing in other states, she really does have a commanding lead and she has a commanding lead in all of the other metrics you look at when you're trying to determine strength inside a party, endorsements from elected officials, fundraising, grassroots enthusiasm. There really is a broad commanding support. You know, she's going to have to go out and work for this nomination and earn it and I think she knows that and the campaign knows that and you see them working very hard for it every day.

KAYE: So we can't talk about Hillary Clinton, of course, these days without talking about the whole e-mail situation. I want to play you this sound bite here from former Justice Department official on CNN yesterday and then get your reaction to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VICTORIA TOENSING, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, she has committed a crime. It's the same crime that David - General David Petraeus pleaded guilty to, having classified information in an unauthorized location. That's the gist of the crime. It's a one-year maximum sentence. It's a misdemeanor. Petraeus got two years of probation and a $100,000 fine.

Look, here it is. She purposely put the server in her home, an unauthorized location, and they have now found top-secret documents on that server.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Matt, that's a former Justice Department official calling what Hillary Clinton did a crime and it does seem that most Americans tend to agree that this is a pretty big deal, if you look at this recent poll saying that Hillary Clinton's e-mails should be subject to a criminal investigation. What is your response to this?

MILLER: Well, with all due respect to that former DOJ official, I think that's ridiculous. There's no comparison between the David Petraeus story, someone who admitted he was keeping classified information that he knew was classified, and that he shared that information, even though he knew it was classified and protected, with someone who wasn't authorized to have access to it. There is no parallel between that situation and Secretary Clinton's.

If you look at this, you know, you have to, first of all, step back and say, the only reason we're even talking about this is because she has voluntarily asked for all of her e-mails to be released, something that no other cabinet official, no one else running for president has done. And in the process of that some - an inspector general from the intelligence committee has looked through these e-mails and contended that a few of them are classified, something that, by the way, the State Department disagrees with. And if you look at - there was a story that moved today from the Associated Press that gave a little background into what might be those e-mails and it looks really like another example of over classification, where you have people in the intelligence community arguing that things that are already ought in the public domain ought to be classified even though there's no indication at all that anything that she did or said over e-mail was classified. And to the contrary, we know that none of the e-mails that she sent or received were ever marked classified at the time.

KAYE: All right. Matt Miller, appreciate your time today. Thank you.

MILLER: Thank you.

KAYE: Next, a cop pistol-whipped, knocked out cold and nobody helped him. You're about to hear from him and why he says he hesitated to shoot.

Plus, it is one of the year's most anticipated movies and security in theaters stepped up across America today as "Straight Outta Compton" opens. And they are two of the most notorious killers in American history,

sentenced to die for the nightmare home invasion in Connecticut. But now they won't be put to death. You'll hear why, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:13:35] KAYE: A police detective in Birmingham, Alabama, is now speaking out about a violent attack against him following a traffic stop. This man is accused of knocking out and pistol whipping the detective with his own department-issued gun. These images surfaced on social media shortly after making a mockery of the attack. Now that detective is telling CNN he hesitated to shoot his attacker because of all the media coverage about other police shootings.

CNN's Nick Valencia has been all over this story.

Nick, first, walk us through what happened?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, I spoke to that detective earlier this morning. He said, quite simply, he chose not to use force because he didn't want to be accused of wrongfully shooting an unarmed civilian or using excessive force.

Let's take you back to last Thursday when this detective was driving along and he saw somebody driving erratically on the interstate. He decides to pull that person over and call for backup. He was on his way to go interview another witness for a separate robbery. So he was wanting to get on his way.

Now, while that call was happening to backup, the suspect, according to police, 34-year-old Janard Cunningham gets out of the vehicle and becomes aggressive towards the officer. It's at this point the detective tells me that he chooses not to engage or follow policy of trying to get that man back into his car. But it's that decision that nearly cost him his life. He says, within seconds, he was sucker punched and that suspect then takes the officer's surface weapon and begins beating him over the head with it, causing a gash on his head that required between 15 and 17 staples to close.

[14:15:00] Adding insult to injury, making matters worse, people in the area saw what was happening and chose not to intervene. Instead, they took pictures and posted it on social media. And, Randi, some of the comments are just plain outrageous. One, a user offered the cop - the officer milk and cookies for his nap time. Another used a hash tag that we chose not to use here. It's simply derogatory towards police.

The officer is at home recovering. He was released from the hospital. And that suspect was arrested just a few hours later. He's being charged with attempted murder.

Randi.

KAYE: So, Nick, let's get back to the fact that he hesitated. He admits he hesitated. What more is he telling you about this being a problem really across the country? VALENCIA: He says this is a theme going on right now across the

country in local police departments where a lot of officers are beginning to second guess themselves simply because of the narrative currently going on in the United States of unarmed people being shot by police. He gave us a statement earlier today, did not want to go on camera for safety reasons, but he did tell us that a lot of officers are being too cautious because of what's going on in the media. "I hesitated," he says, "because I didn't want to be in the media like I am right now."

He goes on to say about local police officers, "we don't want to be in the media. It's hard times right now for us. I appreciate everyone's support. I have a concussion and I'm still heavily medicated. Right now I need to focus on healing and getting better."

We spoke to the head of the police union there in Birmingham, who took it a step further. He talked about this hesitation by local police officers. And then, interestingly enough, he mentioned what this suspect said as to why he chose to beat the officer with his own service weapon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did hesitate and that's what's happening across the country right now with the local level law enforcements. It's not that the officers are not trained, because they are. You know, we're well trained. It's just that the way that some media is covering it, portraying the officers as criminals and the criminals as victims, we're hesitant and we're walking on egg shells to make sure we do everything the way that it should be. Not that it should ever be in question, but we want to be treated with the respect or kindness just as if anyone else would be. He made the spontaneous statement that the reason he did what he did to the officer was because of the way he's been seeing coverage about police across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The head of the union went on to say that if the roles were reversed and if the officer, let's say, did this to the suspect, that there would be demonstrations across the country, that there would be national outrage and more national attention. Those local police officers, including the head of the police union, believe that there needs to be more attention to officers right now locally and what they're going through.

Randi.

KAYE: But, Nick, based on the suspect's statements, though, I mean could prosecutors perhaps consider this a premeditated attack then?

VALENCIA: Well, that's probably a better question for a legal analyst. We know that the suspect has been charged with first-degree attempted murder and he's already been in front of a judge. We tried to reach out to the suspect and to his family. We were hung up on when we reached out to the family members. And as far as we know, according to court paperwork, he's not been assigned an attorney just yet. Randi.

KAYE: And let's get back to these social media posts, if you will. I mean they're basically bragging, it sounds like, about the attack.

VALENCIA: Yes.

KAYE: Are Birmingham police looking into charging the people maybe who took the photos as well?

VALENCIA: We haven't heard that just yet. They haven't gone down that road. And if they have, or are starting to go down that road, they haven't mentioned it to us just yet. But they said that people should be embarrassed by what they did. I spoke to the police chief there in Birmingham who says that the integrity and the nobility of police officers is being drawn into question and that those that posted on social media mocking the officer are simply inhumane and should be embarrassed for their actions.

Randi.

KAYE: Yes. It is outrageous. Whatever happened to helping your fellow man, right?

All right, Nick Valencia, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

VALENCIA: You bet.

KAYE: Next, new, incredible images on the front line of that blast in China and the eerie aftermath left behind, including new concerns about pollution and health risk from the hazardous materials that went up in flames.

Also, tests reveal a new clue into the mystery of Baby Doe. This computer generated image has been reviewed more than 52 million times online. Are we any closer to learning who she is and how she ended up dead along the Boston Harbor? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:37] KAYE: A miraculous rescue among the rubble in China. A 19- year-old pulled from the debris alive. Incredibly, there are still survivors nearly two days after this tremendous chemical plant explosions. This is some new video of that blast. Rescue crews are still searching for the many still missing. Dozens are dead, hundreds more injured.

CNN's Will Ripley reports now from the front lines of that blast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now there are thousands of people who are homeless as a result of the explosions that have rocked this city. But there's also a tremendous amount of help that's coming in. These are volunteers who are lined up to work the overnight shift at a shelter, one of 12 emergency shelters set up throughout this city for the thousands of people who are going into the weekend without any possessions for the most part. They're needing everything from food and water and medical treatment, to blankets and beds for them and their children to sleep on.

When you look at the video of the explosion, you see how powerful that series of blasts truly were. It's incredible how many people were able to get out of it alive, even those who were in close proximity. But perhaps the most incredible story is a 19-year-old firefighter who was rescued earlier in the day after surviving for 31 hours in the blast zone. Listen to what one of the firefighters says thinks helped pull him through it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): I think it's a strong will which helped him to hold on. When talking with him, I could feel his strong inner power. And we also kept pepping him up, urging him to hold on and telling him the ambulance was arriving.

[14:25:07] RIPLEY: As he makes his recovery along with more than 700 others who are in the hospital, 33 in extremely critical condition, the search continues for many of the firefighters who are still missing. And there are many who are missing. Twenty-one firefighters confirmed dead so far amongst the 56 fatalities so far confirmed in this blast.

There's a team of chemical and biological experts on the ground here. They're trying to figure out exactly what chemicals were in that factory and if there is any more danger to the public. You have a thousand firefighters who are putting sand and foam on the hot spots. But if it rains here, many of the people sleeping in these emergency shelters are fearful. They're fearful that there will be another chemical reaction and perhaps - that could perhaps contaminate the environment once again. And, in fact, one mother tells us that she's trying to get her daughter to a safer location.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): I asked my in-laws to take my daughter home. I don't want them to stay here. I'm worried. I heard it's going to rain later and that would make the air toxic.

RIPLEY: The owners of the industrial factory where all of these chemicals were being stored, they are being questioned and could potentially face charges if it turns out that there was criminal wrongdoing. That's the word from the Chinese government. They want to know why firefighters in the initial response were not aware - they didn't have a list of all the chemicals that were being housed when that fire first ignited. Some of those chemicals could have had an explosive reaction if water was used in the firefighting effort. So that is a key part of this investigation into this tragic event.

But the urgent needs right now, making sure that all of the people who are homeless are cared for, searching for the missing and also making sure that the environmental impact is mitigated. They're testing the air, they're testing the groundwater and the sea water, wanting to make sure that all of the people who remain here are safe.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tianjin, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And our thanks to Will Ripley. An incredible situation there.

Coming up next, a new development in the mystery of Baby Doe. What tests reveal about the young girl found dead two months ago on the shoreline of the Boston Harbor.

Plus, what can you learn about someone by looking at their music play list? We'll show you what President Obama is listening to while on vacation and what it might say about him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)