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Abdelhamid Abaaoud Killed in Raid in Paris; FBI Director James Comey, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch Give Press Briefing on Paris Attack Aftermath. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 19, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Also newly released surveillance video from inside of one of the targeted cafes in Paris Friday night. See how people reacted when the bullets began to fly.

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[15:34:35] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: You can hear the numbers and you can hear the stories from those who survived and those who lost people who did not survive. But there's no substitute for seeing what actually happened during these Paris attacks to understand the depth of the depraved behavior by the terrorists and heroism by those who found a way through it. And now we have a first look at the chaos and mayhem at least inside one of the Paris cafes that came under attack.

The dailymail.com obtained surveillance video capturing what unfolded nearly a week ago now. This distorting video is definitely not easy to watch. But as I walk you through it, let's remember this is what people were forced to deal with. This is the reality of the threat that the world is now uniting against. Take a look.

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[15:35:16] CUOMO: You can see glass windows shattering as the gunman starts firing from outside. People running in to escape the bullets. Everyone diving out of the way and hiding behind walls desperately looking for cover. The gunman showing no signs of mercy coming right up to the edge of the cafe, ageing at a woman defenseless on the ground. But in one of the more miraculous moments, either the gun malfunctions or the gunman misfires and the woman gets up and runs away.

From another angle, you can see two employees ducking behind the bar as bullets start flying. One of them managing to flee down a flight of stairs a as fear grips the cafe. The other helps a woman who had had run inside after the siege began. People seen tossing sharing and tables out of the way to find safety as the attacks continue. The glass and dust clouding the camera's view of the cafe. Terror rocking the city of Paris bringing a lively Friday night to deadening silence.

Remember all those sparks, all that activity you see on the video, that's the gunfire. Those are the shells that are making that mark, making that disruption in what you're watching and no one in that cafe we believe at this point was killed or seriously hurt, which is just amazing. Let's bring in Nic Robertson, CNN senior international diplomatic

editor. He is the Paris bureau.

Nic, we have significant headlines today. We know what the big one is that this alleged planner of Friday's Paris attacks now dead. Take us through the news.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have now from the prosecutor's office confirming that this was Abdelhamid Abaaoud killed by DNA analysis by fingerprint sampling as well.

What we learned is that he had multiple impacts on his body. This is one of the reasons it took French prosecutors so long along with police forensic teams to figure out precisely who they had actually got. But we are also learning here some startling details that will be deeply troubling for security officials here.

Number one, you have the fact that the French only learned about Abdelhamid Abaaoud's presence in France two days before this raid. They got a tip from Moroccan intelligence officials. Abaaoud, of course, Belgium citizen but of Morocco descent. So the Moroccan tip off the French. The French then go to the (INAUDIBLE) surveillance, the wiretaps, that lead them to the apartments. So we have, if you will, an intelligence tip off that is not in Syria, as they believe that it is not back into Europe.

Now, we also have as well from French officials. They are now saying that Abaaoud has contact, was close friends with known jihadist in front. They are chasing them down. They are also saying something like quite disturbing here. This man played a decisive role in the attack on Friday, but has also in four out of six attempted attacks that were thwarted here in France since spring alone. That alone tells you the nature of the ISIS threat and the nature of this man involved in it as well -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Nic, thank you very much for taking us through the headlines.

We will leave Paris for now and head back to New York.

BALDWIN: All right. We are, just want to let you know, we are waiting for a briefing, joint briefing from the FBI director James Comey and U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch. So standby for that.

But first, ISIS is making more threats in newly released videos. They are threatening attacks here in the United States, Italy, France and beyond.

So CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Gilliam is here with me now.

And I guess, first things first when we are hearing now, bringing it back home, they are specifically with these videos, you see the yellow cabs and the statue of liberty and these places around New York and Washington, how vulnerable are we? How concerned are you?

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: What concerns me, I'm concerned in this particular time because we have been waiting for ISIS to actually come out and do their own attacks. Not just somebody who was inspired, not somebody who was a lone Wolf or home grown operative. This family tree of the people that carried out this attack goes straight back into Syria and ISIS and that's where they got their training and we think that's where the possible instruction for this came down.

So if that's the fact, now we have to start looking at these threats seriously. As people were e getting arrested in different locations and there's a lot of rumors about people getting arrested here or there.

[15:40:03] BALDWIN: Nothing necessarily, by the way. I mean, those (INAUDIBLE). It does lead one to question, if they have fake passport, my goodness, they are up to Central America, Mexico and then boom, but we don't know.

GILLIAM: We don't know, but here's the thing. Where we're seeing these things happen are exactly where people, experts have been predicting that they will try to enter into the United States and attack techniques and procedures that will used to manipulate in order to get in. So those are the things that are scaring me. But what set me at ease a little bit is the fact that in the United States at least versus other countries, logistically, it's just harder to carry an attack out here. But what we see with what happened in France, that wasn't anything that was -- and carrying an attack out here with a little bit of effort of getting some illegal guns and carrying an attack on a soft target any day.

BALDWIN: OK, Stay with me. I would love to have you join in as soon as we see this joint news conference we are getting in Washington, again, between the FBI director and U.S. attorney general. So that's happening shortly in Washington.

Coming up next, though, torn between two states. A family of Syrian refugees plan for years to relocate to move to the United States only to find out the state of Indiana is now turning them down in the aftermath of what happened in Paris. We'll talk to Governor Mike Fence about that decision and why another state is jumping in to assist this family. Stay here.

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[15:45:52] CUOMO: What just happened here in Paris is certainly having reverberations back in the United States. One major implication is that house Syrian refugees are now seen has changed. The house just passed a bill today that would in essence suspend the refugee program in the United States. And they did it with a veto- proof majority, meaning if the bill ever did reached President Obama representatives could override any veto by him, which he promised.

However, it may not reach the president because Democratic leaders in the Senate says they have enough votes in the caucus to stop the bill from moving forward. The bill does reflect what many Americans want. According to a new poll found from "Bloomberg Politics," 28 percent believe the U.S. should move forward with plans to resettle 10,000 refugees. But more than half, 53 percent of Americans, do not think the U.S. should accept any Syrian refugees.

No new refugee bill is in the U.S. law books yet, but one Syrian family is already being impacted by the fact that one Paris attacker, investigators say, may have posed as a refugee to enter the country.

A married couple and their 5-year-old son were headed to Indiana. It took them three years of vetting and waiting to get there. But then the state of Indiana sent them notice that the placement program there had been suspended. Not just for them, but also for another family expected in Indiana just next month. So the state of Connecticut jumped in. The Connecticut's Democratic governor Daniel Malloy met with them yesterday. Here's what he had to say.

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GOV. DANIEL MALLOY (D), CONNECTICUT: I told them that people in the United States are generous and good people, but sometimes things happen elsewhere that cause people to forget about their generosity.

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CUOMO: That's Governor Daniel Malloy.

Now, it must be said that he is in the minority of governors. An overwhelming majority of them have come forward asking can the president to suspend the program saying that they don't want Syrian refugees in their state. Right now, specifically, one of those governors is Indiana governor, Mike Pence, obviously.

Governor, you join us now. Thank you very much, gov., for having this conversation. There is a lot of ugly politics surrounding this. I know "the Washington Post" in an editorial just nominated you for a profile in cowardness award for turning away this family. I say we have a legit discussion about the law, the policy, the facts that are driving your decision. Make the case.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: Well, Chris, first off, our hearts go out to our allies and friends in France in the wake of last week's terrorist attack in that nation. And every Hoosier has them in our prayers. But with the revelation that one of the attackers in Paris had come in to Europe as a Syrian refugee and in the wake of the fact that the director of the FBI testified a month ago that we have significant gaps in our ability to confirm the identity and intentions of people coming into this country as --

CUOMO: Governor, I'm sorry to cut you off.

PENCE: And suspend this program in the Hoosier state.

CUOMO: Governor, I don't want to cut you off. I want to have this discussion. But the man we were talking about right now, the FBI director as well as the attorney general are supposed to be making a statement. We just got word they are giving it now. I want to get that new. And then, please, stay with me, Governor, so we can have this conversation. Are you OK with that?

PENCE: You bet.

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: And reaffirm our partnership in the fight against terrorism.

Now, of course, our highest priority is and will remain the security of our homeland and the safety of all Americans. And at the department of justice, we are operating around the clock as we have since 9/11 and even before to uncover and disrupt any plot that takes aim at our people, our infrastructure and our way of life. We take all threats seriously. We are acting aggressively to diffuse threats as they emerge. And we are vigorously investigating and prosecuting those who seek to harm the American people.

In fact, since 2013 we have charged more than 70 individuals for conduct related to foreign fighter interest and home grown violent extremism. And we continue to take robust actions to monitor and to thwart potential extremist activity.

Now, the department of justice and the FBI are working closely with the department of homeland security with the broader intelligence community and our partners around the world in all of these efforts. And we're bringing every resource in the service of our mission.

And so, I think it's important to note that as we do this work we are guided obviously by our commitment to the protection of the American people, but also by our commitment to the protection of our American values which include the timeless principles of inclusivity and freedom that have always made this country great.

We need to say we will not let our actions be overtaken by fear. We will not allow merchants of violence to rob us of our most precious ideals. Our values are not secondary considerations in the fight against terror. They are central to the work that we do. And they are essential to the nation that we protect. They are also the reason that we are a target and they are what terrorists want most to seek to have us abandon. They want us to live in fear, and we refuse. They want us to change who we are and what makes us quintessentially American, and that we will never do.

And now I'll turn the microphone over to the director of the FBI Jim Comey for a few remarks as well.

[15:51:31] JAMES COMEY, DIRECTOR, FBI: Thank you, Madame attorney general.

I would like folks to know three things. How we think about the threat, what we're doing about it and what you should do as a citizen in this great country of ours.

First the threat. We are not aware of any credible threat here of a Paris-type attack. And we have seen no connection at all between the Paris attackers and the United States. ISIL and its supporters put out all kinds of propaganda like videos and magazines, but that is not credible intelligence. Of course we investigate all of those propaganda threats. But instead the threat here focuses primarily on troubled souls in America who are being inspired or enabled online to do something violent for ISIL. We have stopped a lot of those people this year, especially leading up to July 4th. And there are others we worry about and we cover all across the country using all of our lawful tools. So that's how we think about the threat.

Second, what are we doing about the threat? The taxpayers of this country have invested a lot of their money in building a national counterterrorism capability since 9/11. And that has built something very strong. We are not perfect, but we are good. And starting minutes after the Paris attacks on Friday we did four things. First, we began looking for connections between Paris and here. Second, we made sure that we were tightly connected with our state and local partners. That they knew everything we knew and that they were as energized as we are. Third, we began covering every tip and every lead immediately. And we have continued that to this moment. And last, we have made that our over 100 joint terrorism task forces are focused intensely on our investigations and in fact that they have taken them up a notch.

That is very hard work. But we are very fortunate to have the help of our state and local partners around the country. Together we are watching people of concern using all of our lawful tools. We will keep watching them and if we see something, we'll work to disrupt it. That's what we're doing about it.

Last, what should you people of the United States do in response to this threat? The most important thing I think is do not let fear become disabling. That is what the terrorists want. They want you to imagine them in the shadows. They want you to imagine them as something greater than they are. Instead, we hope that you will turn fear into healthy awareness of what's around you. If you see something that gives you a bad feeling, tell somebody in law enforcement.

Since September 11th we have really worked to get ourselves organized in such a way that if you walk up and tell any police officer in this country or any deputy sheriff in this country that you saw something, didn't seem right, you heard something that didn't seem right or you read something online that seemed off, that information will get to the right people immediately. You can count on it. And we will check it out. If it's nothing, no harm done. But if it was something, great harm may be avoided.

But counterterrorism is what you pay us to do. Tell us what you saw and then go on living your lives, living your life while we do our work. That is channeling fear into something healthy, which is awareness of your surroundings and not something disabling. That's what we hope you will do.

Thank you, Madame attorney general.

LYNCH: Thank you, Mr. Director. Thank you all.

[15:55:02] CUOMO: All right. We just heard from the FBI director there and the attorney general about what they are doing in the fight for terror right now and what about community awareness.

So let's get back to Indiana governor Mike Pence.

I'm sorry to cut you off, governor, but obviously we wanted to get the news out of that. You were making the case of why you needed to turn away in the interest of the state of the people of Indiana this Syrian family and probably two Syrian families. Please, make the case.

PENCE: Well, Chris, what we determined was after Director Comey testified before Congress last month that there were significant gaps in our ability to determine the identity or intention of individuals seeking entry of this country through the Syrian refugee program, now that we know a Syrian refugee was involved in the attacks in Paris, I just determine as governor of state of Indiana it would be appropriate for us to suspend any further resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state of Indiana unless and until we could bring about the kind of changes that would give us the absolute assurance that no one being settled in our state was a threat to our people.

As governor of the state of Indiana I have no higher priority than the safety and security of the people of my state. And you've seen a bipartisan growing chorus from the Congress to state houses around the country that have agreed with us in that.

And let me say I'm certainly encouraged by the leadership that the FBI director and the attorney general expressed today. None of which changes the fact that the director said, and Jeh Johnson of homeland security, have said that there are serious gaps in the kind of information that we currently have under the current program. That's why I think the large bipartisan majority that voted today in the Congress to pause this program and work together to establish the kind of safeguards that would ensure we could go forward with a refugee program without jeopardizing the security of our nation was the right course of action.

CUOMO: Governor, I understand what you're saying with what's going on with the master nations of how close we can get to 100 percent guarantee with the vetting process, but why did this family maybe too have to pay the price of your uncertainty? They have been vetted for three years this family. They were found to not have any significant threat, obviously, which is why they were being admitted. The guy was a shopkeeper. They have got a little baby. This family did not have any earmarks of that. Why make them pay the price for your uncertainty? What fact can you point to? What do you know about these people to justify extending their distress?

PENCE: Well, Chris, let me just say Indiana has a long tradition of opening our arms and our hearts and our homes to refugees from around the world. And my heart goes out to this family and other families who've been caught up in the humanitarian crisis of the Syrian regime of the ISIS violence and all that's happening in that part of the world.

I think as Congress reconsiders and I hope the administration reconsiders their policy here and establishes safeguards in this program will also look for ways that we can provide additional aid to refugees affected here. But look, at the end of the day when you see a Syrian refugee involved in a terrorist attack in Paris, someone who gained access to the European Union under this program, and we have the leadership of our homeland security and our FBI saying that we have serious gaps, I think it was altogether fitting that Republicans and Democrats in the Congress of the United States today voted overwhelmingly to pause this program. Our decision in Indiana was not to end our long and historic

commitment to resettlement and compassion to refugees from Syria. It just simply as Congress did today we said it's time for us to take a pause to work together to set all the political rhetoric aside, Chris, and find a way that we can improve the screening so that we can ensure the safety and security of our people.

Our hearts break for the people of Paris. Our hearts break for the people of France. But as governor of the state of Indiana, and as you can see governors all across the United States, my responsibility is to see to the safety and security of my people. And unless and until we have the absolute assurance that steps have been taken to determine the background, the identity and the intentions of people that are coming in as Syrian refugees we'll keep that policy in Indiana in place.

CUOMO: Well, one more pushback on what you do know here. Because you keep using this expression of, you know, your hearts are open to them. And I understand that. There's no question that Hoosier compassion is known far and wide. But here's what you know on the facts of it.

PENCE: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: One, there is a lot of vetting. There's more vetting for these refugees than there are most groups of immigration into the United States. You know that. It's done first by the UNHCR, the high commission on human rights. They do it. It takes a long time. Then it comes to the United States. It takes a long time. We see that with this family. It's taken three years. And we also know that while it's about your heart, it's hard to reconcile that with what just happened with this family because there are in no way evidence of the threat that we saw here in Paris. They have embedded for years and there is no proof of that.