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At This Hour

Alison Parker's Father Calls for Gun Control; Virginia Shooter Prepared in Advance; Trump Stumps in S.C. with High Poll Numbers. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 27, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman.

Today, a TV station in Virginia, the entire country in mourning over the murder of two young journalists shot and killed while on the air. WDBJ's morning show paused for a moment of silence for their colleagues the very minute that Alison Parker and Adam Ward's lives were taken yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WDBJ ANCHOR: As we approach that moment, we want to pause and reflect and we want to share with you once again what made these two so special not just to us but all of our hometowns that WDBJ 7 serves. Please join us now in a moment of silence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And you see the words right there, "in memory" and that is where the focus will remain.

But today, we are also learning more about the killer here, a former employee of that very same TV station with a very troubling history, being fired from two jobs for his behavior. The station's general manager -- the general manager of WDBJ said this morning that that man was off his rocker. About two hours after killing Alison Parker and Adam Ward and injuring Vicky Gardner, he faxed a 23-page suicide rant to ABC News. It's full of ramblings about racism and what he perceived as discrimination that he faced being a gay black man. It doesn't even come close to explaining the tragedy, but it does show that he meticulously planned it out.

BERMAN: He says, quote, "My anger has been building steadily. I have been a human powder keg for a while, just waiting to go boom at any moment." He says he put down a deposit for a gun two days after the Charleston church massacre.

BOLDUAN: This morning, Alison Parker's father spoke out about his daughter's short but beautiful and happy life. She had just turned 24 last week, already had a very full and successful career, a reporter in Roanoke, Virginia, covering important stories and feature pieces for WDBJ. Andy Parker, he spoke about making sure what happened to his daughter

does not happen to others, calling for what he said is sensible gun control laws.

Listen here to his interview with our colleague, Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF ALISON PARKER: Yesterday, I really didn't think I would be making the news around circuit and just had no intention of doing so, and then as I reflected during the day, I realized that, you know, Alison was a journalist. She does what you guys did -- did what you guys did, and she would want me to do this. So that's why I'm here, but I have gone through, you know, the usual emotions of being numb and then, you know, uncontrolled grief and sobbing all day long, and then, you know, anger, but my soul has been crushed.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": In one of your statements yesterday, you said something that I hope you're feeling as well as saying which is the measure of solace you get from knowing that while your daughter had such a young life at 24 years of age, she touched so many people and she made so much of the time that she had. Is that helping?

PARKER: It is. The outpouring from the community and, you know, I think the nation at large, obviously this is a big story nationally, and, you know, that has been a comfort, but she was. She was such a special person. You know, she loved everybody that -- you know, she was loved by everyone and, you know, it was -- and she touched a lot of lives, and obviously it shows in the tributes that have come her way, and I got to tell you, I've not watched any television. You know, I didn't see any of the recounts. I didn't want to, but after the fact I'm hearing just, you know, how much she has been loved and, you know, I certainly -- it doesn't surprise me.

CUOMO: Part of how you want your daughter to be remembered is that you want something to come out of this situation. You were very strong last night when you were talking about how you think we need to be better after a situation like this. What do you want now?

PARKER: Well, you know, her life was cut short. She had so much potential, and, you know, it's senseless that her life and Adam's life were taken by a crazy person with a gun. And, you know, if I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and -- look, I'm for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense -- have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns. It can't be that hard, and yet politicians, from the local level to the state level to the national level, they side step the issue. They kick the can down the road. This can't happen anymore. Because Alison was one of you guys. This has got to hit home for journalists. And if journalists -- you know, if journalists are targets -- and we're not talking about, you know, someone going to Syria and being in the crosshairs of ISIL, we're talking about two kids that were two young people that were doing a benign story about a marina opening or celebration, and someone -- and a crazy person with gun shoots them.

And I know the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now. They're going to say, oh, well, gee, if they were carrying, this never would have happened. I have news for you, if Alison or Adam had been carrying an A.K.-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference. They couldn't have seen this thing coming. So, you know, I don't want to hear that argument from the NRA and you know that's going to happen and I'm going to take it on. I got a call from Governor McAuliffe yesterday and I told him exactly what my plan was. If I have to be a crusader on this, I'm not going to rest until I see something happen, and he said, "Andy," he said, "you go for it. I'm right there with you." We've got to have our legislators and our Congressmen step up to the plate and stop being cowards about this.

[11:07:00] CUOMO: But, Andy, you know what you're going to hear, and obviously you're very emotional right now and it's motivating you, and you have to put emotion where you can right now to help you in this situation. We wish you well with that. But we just had Donald Trump on. He's leading in the polls and he says these are tough issues and I'm for the Second Amendment and I don't think that you should take away more guns, that doesn't seem to be the answer, and mental illness is tough and we should do more. And those things sound great to people. We hear them from politicians all the time. And yet nothing changes because the two sides are very rooted. The law is what it is, and change is hard. What do you say to those issues?

PARKER: Of course, and I'm not -- you know, I'm not saying let's take away guns. I'm just saying let's make it harder for people with mental issues or people like this guy that killed Alison and Adam, you know, to make it difficult for them to purchase guns. There's got to be a mechanism that gets put in place for that, and I don't think that's unreasonable to do, but steps -- how many Newtowns are we going to have, how many sandy hooks? How many Alisons are going is this going to happen to before we stop it? And it is -- I'm challenging you, the media, because, again, this is one of your own, and I know how the business works. This is going -- it's a great story for a couple days, and then it goes to the back burner and nothing happens. But I can promise you and I can promise the American people I'm not going to rest until I see something get done here.

CUOMO: You're being motivated obviously by the loss of your daughter. You know there's been a great outpouring of support for her and the eyes of the country are on this story. What do you want them to know about your daughter?

PARKER: That she was kind and she was sweet and she touched everybody and that, you know, I'm standing here now and, you know, I got to see her in action in doing stories like this with a camera setup. She loved us and we loved her, and I talked to her every single day. Every single day I talked to her. And right now she would be texting me right now saying, dad, what did you think of my story? You know, what did you think of it? And I'm never going to hear that again. She was so loved by all. And I know my heart is broken, but I want to try and do something that will change that and make her life -- will do something meaningful for her life so that of this doesn't happen to someone else again, but she was a special young lady and I think people across the country and certainly around here realize that.

[11:10:00] CUOMO: Often maybe the best thing that comes out of a situation like this, Andy, is that people get a respect for the victims who were involved and what is lost when somebody decides to take out their anger the way that this madman did, and your daughter in her own way is becoming the best example of how precious life is, and you got to see it even in her boyfriend, Chris, who you know so well, the love he had for your daughter and the love she had for him. That is one way that your daughter will live on in the hearts of the people who loved her.

PARKER: It is, and, you know, we can at least take solace in the fact that she lived -- you know, she was only 24. She just turned 24 last week, and she had -- she packed in a great life in 24 years. She did a lot of things, and she was -- most of all she was happy with what she was going. She loved what she was doing. She loved her family. She loved Chris very much. And at least -- I know from law enforcement officials, she didn't suffer. And, you know, she led a happy life, but I just wish I could touch her soul right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: It's a discussion that no parent should ever have to have, and far too many are. Just amazing to hear his strength.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

BERMAN: And his love for his daughter.

BOLDUAN: We often say it, but I don't think I've ever felt it as much as you can absolutely feel this man's pain.

BERMAN: Chris Cuomo is with us now. He joins us from Roanoke.

First of all, Chris, that was a remarkable interview. I think in some ways, as sad as it is, it's wonderful to hear the words from a father who loved a daughter so much. So good to give him the chance to express that love to the world so we all understand what he's going through.

You're standing in front of WDBJ right now, a station going through its own healing process, if they're even there yet, in front of the memorials that are out there. Give us a sense of what's happening down there today.

CUOMO: Well, the local community, John and Kate, have been calling this their news family, WDBJ. Under the mimosa tree behind us, you see there's a memorial. The two black ribbons for those lives that were lost, Alison and Adam, and then you see the balloons and the flowers that usually accumulate, but there's been something bigger here that you can't see. The community has come out to put its embrace around this station and the people and, frankly, one another. Because as you both witnessed first hand too many times, in the face of this type of darkness, there needs to be a recoiling of love and of empathy, and that's what gives a community resilience, and we've seen that here in a very special way. The problem is that we've seen it too many times. The question is whether or not Americans can come together in a time of crisis. It's what do they do after that crisis point, and that is what takes us to Alison's father. His determination to put purpose to his pain, as difficult as it is for him, winds up making his message even that much more worthy of people's attention.

BOLDUAN: And also I think I definitely saw it, even starting with the tragedy yesterday, and I want to get your take being there, Chris. I have been really struck by the strength, by the composure of Alison Parker and Adam Ward's colleagues, their news team. That station has carried on in the middle of an unfolding tragedy.

CUOMO: No question about it. It's unusual for those who cover the news to become the news. And their station manager probably said it best. He said that the way we honor them is by doing the news, by doing our job as well as we can do it. And that has certainly galvanized these people but they're hurting. You see them coming out, and this is an intimate group. Local news teams are often that way and this one is no different, maybe even more so, and yet for all their pain and all of what you're seeing that is beautiful and uniting them, there is a sense of concern of what will it lead to for them. This is just starting for them. This is just day one of this. And the question is, all these big questions that come up in these situations, will they find a different end than they have in the past? And if not, what will that mean to these people?

What will it lead to?

BERMAN: Chris Cuomo, thank you so much for being there for us. Really appreciate it.

We do have new details about the killer, his twisted history, including a plan that began weeks ago.

BOLDUAN: And also some of the other big news that we're following, this morning leading the pack. Brand new polls show that Donald Trump is gaining even more steam. Can the other candidates in the GOP field do anything to turn the summer of Trump around?

[11:15:11] And a dark secret at one of America's most elite prep schools. The so-called Senior Salute. A student accused of rape on trial right now. His startling testimony and the closing arguments underway as we speak. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: As friends and family and so many more are mourning the death of journalists, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, we are getting more information this morning about the shooter's motive. Officials say he planned the attack meticulously.

BERMAN: Even prepped his Twitter account days before the killing with videos, and then used it to post a video of the shooting.

Let's bring in CNN's senior media correspondent, host of "Reliable Sources," Brian Stelter -- Brian? BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: We know he also sent a

fax to ABC News, 23 pages of somewhat deranged content. We can show some of it to you and talk about what he shared.

He revealed, for example, he had been a teen model many years ago, also a male escort, he says. Then becoming a television news reporter at multiple stations, never lasting very long in any of them. He described the hardships he said of being a black man and a gay man. He described being bullied, harassed, suffering injustices is one way he put it. He expressed praise for other killers, for the columbine killers, for the Virginia Tech massacre gunman.

We can read some of this 23-page suicide note. He explicitly refers to dying. He says what sent me over the top was the church shooting, talking about Charleston in June. He says, "My hollow point bullets have the victims' initials on them." He said, "It should be noted the shooting took place on June 17th," and he put a deposit on his gun two days later. There's clearly a racial component, at least in his own mind. As a black man, wanting to get revenge on Dylann Roof, the Charleston church shooter, but then why attacked two of his former colleagues?

[11:20:22] BOLDUAN: And it can't go without saying that he also lays out in there that he talks about in his own words that he's disturbed.

STELTER: That's right. Surprisingly self aware at times.

BOLDUAN: Right.

STELTER: In fact, he went on to say -- I think this is the scariest line of all -- saying, "My anger has been building steadily. I have been a human powder keg for a while, just waiting to go boom."

Look at all the exclamation points afterwards. He talked about that tension that had been building up. We saw that confrontation in the video over the summer with his car. He says that's an example of the anger that had been building and eventually got to yesterday.

BERMAN: One of the key questions is, is there a clinical diagnosed history of mental illness here, something that people actually saw and recorded? Unknown as of now.

BOLDUAN: Right. And no evidence of it yet at least.

BERMAN: Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Brian.

BERMAN: Coming up for us, other news, a brand new poll shows Donald Trump with his biggest lead yet, but the headline might be who isn't in second place, by a lot.

BOLDUAN: And the teenager accused of raping a younger student at a prestigious New Hampshire prep school, he takes the stand. What Owen Labrie said and whether the jury was swayed. Closing arguments happening right now. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:00] BERMAN: Any minute now, Donald Trump will take the stage before an adoring crowd in Greenville, South Carolina. You're looking at live pictures right there of the event. These events are as unpredictable and impulsive as they are immodest.

This morning, Trump has a new reason for bluster. A new Quinnipiac poll shows him with his biggest lead yet. He's at 28 percent, up eight points for him since last month. And his nearest competitor, it's Ben Carson, all the way back at 12 percent.

BOLDUAN: And Jeb Bush, take a look right there, he sinks to third place. And it's not just a drop for Jeb. He's at 7 percent compared to Trump's 28 percent.

Trump spoke out earlier on CNN about these new poll numbers. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I see the response that I get, Chris, and, you know, I'm honored by the polls, but I'm not that surprised to see it. I also see my competition. I see people like Jeb Bush, who is a nice man, but he's not bringing you to the Promised Land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And today, as John mentioned, Donald Trump is taking his message to South Carolina.

That's where our Sara Murray is for us.

Sara, Trump is leading in the polls in that state, in that state specifically as well, but the Senator of that state from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, he went after Trump in talking to me about his home state.

Just a reminder of what he said. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come to South Carolina and I'll beat his brains out. I know my state. This is a silly season in politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So there you have it, Sara. What do folks there want to hear from Trump today?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: You know, I got to tell you, Kate, when I'm talking to these voters who are waiting in line to see Trump, not a lot of them are mentioning Senator Lindsey Graham's name. This is a little different than the normal Trump events. It's not a huge rally. It's a Chamber of Commerce event. A number of people said they want to see him for the same reason everyone else does. They think he's a blunt talker, he tells it like it is, and also they're just plain curious. One woman I talked to said she's waiting to see the big implode. She says it's Donald Trump, it's inevitable, it's going to happen eventually, but for now, I want to see it up close and personally. That's what we're hearing from those folks who are lined up today waiting on Donald Trump.

BERMAN: The big implode. But that's why people listen so closely because they want to be there when the next big thing happens and they don't --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: -- know what it will be.

Sara Murray, thank you so much.

I want to bring in Doug Heye, the former communications director for the Republican National Committee.

Doug, I think Jeb Bush is waiting for the big implode also. It's not happening. The big takeaway from this new Quinnipiac poll for me is that Jeb Bush has fallen to third place, all the way down at 7 percent. In that poll, they do a fascinating thing. They do word association. They say, what's the first word that comes to mind when you think of "X." When they asked Donald Trump, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Donald Trump, the answer for voters was "arrogant" and "blow hard." The third was "idiot." That sounds bad. But look at what the answer was for Jeb Bush. What are the first words you would use to describe Bush? "Bush, family." And third is "honest," which is the nicest word anyone had to say about anybody.

(LAUGHTER)

But the first word that comes to mind is "Bush." It's as if they're saying I don't think about him at all, all I'm thinking about him is the name.

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure. You look at how they've positioned the campaign. It's Jeb with an exclamation mark. They're emphasizing Jeb because everybody knows Bush. Everybody knows his brother, his father. They don't know Jeb. And this is why you're seeing them continue on this really a tortoise strategy. I don't think -- from the folks I've talked to at the campaign, they're not worked up about a particular poll. They want to keep moving forward, trying to move the ball forward as much as they can, as opposed to being the news of the day or the news of the week or the month or the year with everything we hear with Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: I definitely want to play word association with you later, Doug, because it would be interesting and probably not for TV.

HEYE: I would say "hair."

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Just for full disclosure, Hillary Clinton also facing some problems with the word association. "Liar" and "dishonest" were the two that popped up for her. We'll discuss that later.

On the Trump train, since he's going to be in South Carolina today, there's something interesting we saw in the polls. Not only is he the top choice among Republicans, when you ask the question -- when Quinnipiac asked the question about, who is your no-way candidate, I'll-never-vote-for-you candidate, Trump also tops that list at 26 percent. Jeb Bush comes in second at 18 percent.

What's going on with Republican voters right now?

HEYE: Well, I think they're seeing a really broad, diverse field and trying to figure out where everyone is. Meanwhile, the challenge they face is what do they hear about all day every day? It's always Donald Trump and it's always in the conversation that Donald Trump wants to have.

Kate, I've mention your interview with Senator Lindsey Graham yesterday. I'm a big Lindsey Graham fan, but if you want to go after Donald Trump, instead of calling him names, challenging him to a fight, promising to win that fight, obviously, look at the specifics. Look at what Donald Trump has offered as plans. Look how he can or can't answer questions about specific plans. Look at where there are any specifics or no specifics. If you drill down on issues with Donald Trump, look at what the voters said in South Carolina to Sara Murray, there were no specifics on issues. And that's really the soft underbelly of Donald Trump's campaign.