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Trial of First Officer in Freddie Gray's Death Begins; GWU Study: Unprecedented Support for ISIS in U.S.; Interview with Rep. Mike Turner; Calls for Chicago Mayor to Resign; Russia Accuses Turkish President of Secret ISIS Oil Deal. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 02, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They both are ten years maximum in prison and so he could serve at least 20 years if convicted of those two alone.

Now, William Porter was not there at the beginning of that van ride when Freddie Gray was arrested and put into the van and began to be transported. He came halfway through when the driver, Officer Goodson, had radioed in that he needed another officer to check on a person they were transporting. That was William Porter right there. That's when he came on.

But here's what prosecutors believe is so important. He said to Freddie Gray in that van, "Do you need medical attention?" So he was aware. He saw something. Freddie Gray responded yes. William Porter communicated that allegedly to the driver of the van, and they did not go to the hospital at that point.

Secondly, according to the probable cause statement, Freddie Gray is on the floor of the police van. William Porter has him sit on the bench, but doesn't seat belt him in. And so prosecutors are saying it's that omission right there, not putting that seat belt on him, when it was an order to do so in the Baltimore Police Department, that that, in essence, among other things, caused the death of Freddie Gray.

The defense says not so fast. We don't know what happened in that van. We don't know what caused those injuries. And nobody was seat belting anybody in, and the order had just come down two weeks before. And we don't even know if the defendant knew about that order. Carol?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, and you say opening statements could begin later today. It's moving along at a faster clip than anyone expected. Jean Casarez reporting live in Baltimore. Thank you.

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COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Unprecedented support for ISIS in the United States. Those are the chilling findings of a new study by George Washington University, which says some 71 people have been charged with ISIS- related activities since March of 2014, including 56 arrests this year alone. Of those, the average age is 26; 86 percent are male; 40 percent converted to Islam; 51 percent traveled or attempted to travel abroad; while 27 percent were involved in plots to carry out attacks on American soil.

Now this report also shows that there isn't just one face of ISIS support in the United States. Among those who have been arrested, killed, or suspected of aiding ISIS are people from a variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds. You can see their pictures there. The report notes that many are American born, under the age of 30, and had no previous history of radical views or activities.

And now the man who was once the top military intelligence official for President Obama is offering a warning.

(BEG IN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN (RET.), FMR. DIRECOTR, DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: The FBI I know is working overtime today to prevent this kind of an attack. Paris was eight guys. The attack in Mali at the hotel was ten guys. So two guys, three guys, four guys could have -- could raise absolute havoc in a mall or somewhere else ---

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: You think it's just a matter of time?

FLYNN: I do, I really do believe it's a matter of time. I believe that there's going to be -- where our luck is going to run out and they're going to be able to achieve something along the lines of what we saw in Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about this with Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. Welcome, sir.

REP. MIKE TURNER (R), OHIO: Carol, thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. Do you agree with Lieutenant General Flynn? Do you think a Paris-style attack is imminent here?

TURNER: You know, there continue to be calls from Capitol Hill for the president to take this threat seriously. As you said, the report from George Washington University shows unprecedented risk. It's not just support for ISIS; it's risk to the United States and to the American people. This is a national security issue. We had General Dunford testifying before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday, contradicting the president's assessment that ISIS is contained.

I sent a letter to the president last month saying the president's statements don't match with the intelligence that we're receiving here on Capitol Hill. I serve on the Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee. If the president has a rosier picture of what's happening, he should share it, because everything we're seeing is warning signs and risks and threats to the United States.

COSTELLO: As far as threats here at home, though, how concerned are you that authorities have that covered?

TURNER: Well, you know, as was in the previous interview that they just noted, we only have to be wrong once. I think we're doing an excellent job in tracking people down, and Homeland Security and the FBI trying to find them and bring them to justice, who want to do harm to Americans. But they only have to be right once. The real threat here is ISIS is working in the United States, trying to organize threats to the American people. And it's ISIS that is the challenge and it's ISIS that this conflict needs to be taken to.

COSTELLO: So the president is sending more special ops troops into Syria to get better intelligence on the ground so that air strikes will be more effective.

[09:05:04] Is that the right move? And if it is the right move, does more need to be done?

TURNER: Well, you know, the president has no real strategy. I mean, what he just -- what you just described was "I'm going to send people in so my air strikes will be more effective", limits the actions to air strikes. The president hasn't said what strategy do I need? How do I defeat them? And how do we get fully behind this? I mean, we've had years of this where we've seen Iraq and the territory in Syria fall. and ISIS become a stronghold and then threaten the west with the president really turning his back to it.

COSTELLO: So what strategy should he be taking, Congressman?

TURNER: If the President of the United States really wants to defeat ISIS, he needs to turn to the military and say do it. He doesn't really recognize that this is a threat to the United States. Having just said that they're contained, he clearly doesn't see the threat is imminent to the United States. In your interview --

COSTELLO: When you say -- I'm sorry, Congressman. You say turn to his military and just say do it. What do you mean by that?

TURNER: Put together a strategy. He is limiting overall what the outcomes are based upon his rosy picture that we do not have a threat from ISIS, that ISIS is contained, and there is no threat to the United States. That's why I sent him a letter just last month saying, you know, Mr. President, the information, the intelligence that we're receiving on the Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee show an imminent threat to the United States and certainly show that ISIS is growing and gaining territory and in strength. That -- those are not the indicators that the president's plans are working.

COSTELLO: Well, Congressman, when you say imminent -- imminent threat to the United States, that sounds pretty scary. What imminent threat to the United States are you talking about?

TURNER: As you know and as you just reported, there are people throughout the United States who are sympathizers with ISIS, who have been working to coordinate attacks and threats upon the United States. That's why arrests are occurring. And as your previous interviewer (sic) said, you're only having a matter of time --

COSTELLO: Well, I think that as far as we know, the FBI --

TURNER: -- before there's someone who's going to get through that we're not going to be able to stop.

COSTELLO: -- and the CIA says there's not a credible threat within the United States. I'm just wondering if you know more and can share?

TURNER: That is not the case, Carol. No one says there's not a credible threat. They say in fact the risk is great. They're continuing to pursue leads. They're continuing to arrest people. There is absolutely a threat to the United States. And it is one that the President of the United States needs to recognize.

Paris just happened. It was not a figment of anyone's imagination. That was an unbelievable, horrific tragedy. The president needs to realize that we have a real threat here.

COSTELLO: All right, Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio, thanks for joining me this morning.

TURNER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, protesters calling for Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel's resignation. Will he address the outrage again today?

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[09:42:06] COSTELLO: Calls for Chicago's mayor to resign less than 24 hours after he asked the city's top police leader to step down. Rahm Emanuel now bombarded by cover-up claims, accused of hiding police wrongdoing in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. Some say it was all to win this re-election back in April. A $5 million settlement with the victim's family finalized just one week after winning that race.

Chuy Garcia ran against Emanuel.

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JESUS "CHUY" GARCIA (D), FORMER CHICAGO MAYORAL CANDIDATE: The mayor has been involved in an effort to conceal information regarding this incident, this tragedy, this miscarriage of justice. It was obvious that the video would have had profound impact had it been released when it occurred. And the mayor has taken great steps to ensure that it's concealed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Adding more fuel to cover-up claims, if you watch the dashcam video ,there's no audio. Then there's that missing Burger King surveillance footage. An employee says the police deleted it the night of McDonald's death. Also keep in mind the timing of the charges against Officer Van Dyke, filed 14 months after the killing and announced just one day before the dashcam video was set to be released.

With me now, Alderman John Arena; he's with Chicago's 45th Ward. Welcome, sir.

JOHN ARENA, ALDERMAN, CHICAGO'S 45TH WARD: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Is there a cover-up in Chicago?

ARENA: Well, I think we have an awful lot of questions that need to be answered, as you laid out in the beginning of this segment. I think Lisa Madigan calling for the Justice Department to do an investigation is an important step. We cannot self-investigate something this complex and this long running for 400 days to, you know, transpire. We need a special prosecutor. I think Anita Alvarez has culpability here that has to be cleared up.

So there are a lot of questions that have to be answered and it can't be done from within the same circles that allowed this to go forward this long.

COSTELLO: Are there questions in your mind though about the mayor?

ARENA: I've worked with this mayor for over five years now. I'm not one of his biggest proponents at all. I have a lot of questions about the way he does some of his policies.

In the case of the police department, Chicago has the opportunity to do this right. This is national issue in terms of overreaction by officers. We see these cases popping up in cities all across the country. Chicago needs to lead. It needs to get back to how can we create a connection between our police department and our communities that are in trouble? And what McCarthy failed to do was create a real community policing engagement policy that was at all effective.

[09:45:04] And I'm very happy to see him gone in light of this. I would have liked to see him leave sooner, because I didn't see him really honoring what he said he was going to do when he came in, which was create trust in our communities. And these types of issues really breach that trust. We're seeing it over and over again. So until we answer the questions independently, we won't have those answers.

COSTELLO: Some say it is a wonder that this Police Commissioner McCarthy wasn't let go before. Do you know what the murder solve rate is in Chicago? I have the number for you if you don't.

ARENA: Can you repeat this.

COSTELLO: The murder solve rate in Chicago. In 2014, it was 28.7 percent. Nationally, the murder solve rate is 64 percent. So if you're a criminal, why not go ahead and commit a murder in Chicago because you're not likely to get caught?

ARENA: Those kind of statistics are troubling. And I think that's why we -- there had been calls previous to this exposure of this video and this incident for McCarthy to leave. Because there was not the effective use of the police force or the effective management of the police force.

And, again, those communities, what we heard over and over again is the police force just comes in as an occupying force. It is not creating, finding ways to solve the underlying gang problems, gun trafficking problems, the access to weapons and the violence in our communities.

COSTELLO: So how long do you think it might take for, you know, something positive to happen as far as a relationship between the mayor's office in the community? The police and the community?

ARENA: Well, I think it would be impossible to give you a timeline now. I think this is just starting. And we need to, like I said, show the country that large cities can establish police forces that are part of our communities and not occupying forces in troubled communities. That they can engage in the solution to the problems of violence by going to the many members of these communities that are willing to work hard, that are willing to step up. The army of moms that is taking over blocks from gangs. Those are the kind of groups we need to support. And the police need to be a part of that solution.

But before we can rebuild that, we need to find a new leader, a new superintendent for the Chicago Police Department. The mayor has to answer these questions about what led to this, why did we wait so long? Anita Alvarez, the state's attorney, needs to answer these questions. And I think it has to come from this oversight from a Justice Department investigation, like the state's attorney, Lisa Madigan, has called for. Outside audits, establishing IG oversight over the police review process. We do have the police review board and the independent police review board as well, where civic engagement and civic oversight is part of the solution.

But there has to be trust -- trust has to be regained here. And this is a massive breach of trust that has to be resolved here.

COSTELLO: All right, Alderman John Arena, thank you so much for being with me this morning.

ARENA: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Now a stand from an unlikely and fictional hero, Batman is taking on police brutality. DC Comics revealed its latest installment last Wednesday, just one day after Chicago Police Officer Van Dyke was charged with murder. The comic depicts a young African-American man with his hands up and police guns pointed at him. That's when Batman swoops in and beats up the cops. As a result, the entire Gotham Police Department turns on the superhero and leaves him in a bloody slump, one of the officers asking had enough? The artist and writer behind the comic says the story is intended to explore what's happening around the country today.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it's getting personal between Russia and Turkey. Scathing accusations from Moscow about the Turkish president, next.

[09:49:13]

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COSTELLO: A presidential war of words, tensions growing after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet last month. Russian president Vladimir Putin accusing Turkey of downing the plane to protect its secret oil deal with ISIS. Just today, Russia claiming that the Turkish president himself and his family directly benefit from that trade, that deal, that oil deal with ISIS. Turkey's president says prove that and I'll resign. He insists the Russian plane was violating Turkish airspace and that's why it was shot down. In the meantime, the Syrian president Bashar al Assad is once again coming to Russia's defense.

Ian Lee is following all of this for us from Istanbul. Hi, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes, we are seeing this row deepen even further between Russia, Turkey, now you have the Syrian president coming in, ganging up against the Turkish President Erdogan. They're now saying that this downing of the plane is revealing something else about the Turkish president. Take a listen.

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BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT: It has shown the recent tension of Erdogan who, let's say, lost his nerves just because the Russian intervention has changed the balance on the ground.

[09:55:01] So the failure of Erdogan in Syria, the failure of his terrorist groups, means his political demands. So he wants to do anything in order to put obstacles in front of any success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Carol, Russia came out with those accusations, allegations that Turkey is buying oil from ISIS yesterday. We saw Erdogan say show me the proof. Well, Russia today coming out saying they have specific evidence. And as you said, Erdogan said he would resign if they could prove it.

But Turkey has hit back, saying that, in fact, it's Russia's ally, the Syrian regime, that is buying this oil from ISIS. They say they have evidence from the U.S. Treasury Department that shows, as they say, they're the ones that are funding this terrorist organization. But this just shows you how deep it is going between really Russia and Turkey, and now you have Syria joining this conflict.

COSTELLO: All right, Ian Lee reporting live from Istanbul, Turkey, this morning.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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