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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Breaks His Silence; Trump Voter: Don't Care about Upsetting Muslims; Officer on Trial; Arm Yourself Campaign. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired December 10, 2015 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:29:50] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: How do intelligence officials figure out which story is true here?
BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I would go with the witnesses -- the fellow soldiers in that base. Was he talking about deserting to the Taliban? Was he talking about sympathizing with their cause?
And you know, once they give their statements, it's going to count for a lot more than what he says about himself. I truly trust the military justice system more than I do Bergdahl. And I don't think this helps in the middle of a trial, going public like this.
And you know -- this is -- the guy who did the interview is a Hollywood script writer, you know. I write for Hollywood, too, but it's nothing to do with the truth or getting to the bottom something like this.
BROWN: So that point that you just made, this not being a good idea. Let's listen to some sound from the interview with Sergeant Bergdahl around the time he claims that he was captured by the Taliban. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL: They were driving along the road. And I can't tell you what set them off. I can't tell you how they spotted me. I don't know. They deviated. They turned off the road, came towards me.
And maybe they were just -- maybe they just saw somebody walking through the desert and they wanted to see who he was or they're seeing that he need help. I don't know what it was but there I was in the open desert and I'm not about to outrun a bunch of motorcycles. So, you know, I couldn't do anything against, you know, six or seven guys with AK-47s.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BROWN: So, Bob, do you think defense and intelligence officials are worried about all this information being discussed like this?
BAER: No, I don't think it's a worry but, you know, I go back to his statements. In that part of Afghanistan you cannot set a foot outside a base without everybody knowing, including the Taliban. It's a very closed society. It's tribal.
Word of that -- I mean they knew he had left the base. They were probably confused, the Taliban at first. He didn't have a weapon. There was nothing he could have done. I think this is -- this guy had -- at the time at least, had some real problems.
And as far as intelligence, you know, he could have given them, it would be minimum. We're out of there now for the most part. I think it's just sort of a footnote in this war in Afghanistan.
BROWN: All right. Bob Baer, thank you very much for that perspective.
And we're also following two candidates vying for Trump's top spot. Senator Ted Cruz is speaking right now at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. His topic of choice: national security. And Senator Marco Rubio is set to speak at a town hall in west Des Moines, Iowa in just a few minutes from now.
We're monitoring both events to bring you the latest developments.
And now to the man Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio hope to knock out of the top spot in the Republican campaign. We're talking about Donald Trump, of course, who's making gains in the polls despite outrage at home and abroad about his call to fight ISIS by temporarily banning Muslims from entering the U.S.
But as CNN's Alisyn Camerota learned, Trump's rhetoric doesn't seem to pose a problem for his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL DIBARTOLO, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm 100 percent comfortable with it. When San Bernardino happened, it's the first terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. Let me tell you something, it brought back a lot of bad memories for all of us, ok, especially New Yorkers. I'm a New Yorker. I watched as those towers were coming down, ok?
And 9/11 to me -- I don't care about upsetting a few Muslims or upsetting a few people, ok, because when I think of 9/11, every day, I think of the firemen's faces, the looks on their faces as they were running into the towers to save people. They were rushing towards death, ok?
And I think -- I think of all of the little boys and the little girls, ok, that lost their heroes that morning, their moms and their dads. I think of that, ok? That's what I care about and that's what Donald Trump cares about.
I think of all the wives and the moms and the dads, for probably weeks and months and years, or maybe even today, are still crying themselves to sleep. That's what 9/11 means to us. So, I could care less about a few Muslims or a few people that are upset. I could care less about people saying they don't like Donald Trump's tone. We need a true leader in this country, and Donald Trump is that leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and editorial director for the "National Journal". Ron -- clearly his supporters are very passionate. Do you think that voter reflects the views of a large chunk of the Republican Party or just a slice that Trump has tapped into?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it is a bigger of the Republican Party than many people expected. I mean look, Pamela, we saw this even before the San Bernardino and terrorism kind of further turbo charged this.
What did Donald Trump rise on originally? It was basically a hard line against undocumented immigrants. I think when you look at polling, you see a lot of overlap between the same voters who want a hard line on immigration and also the most receptive to the hardest possible line on terror.
[10:35:01] You know, in your last CNN national poll, half of Republicans supported, for example, deporting all undocumented immigrants. Trump was winning almost half of those voters. The other half of Republicans who did not support deporting all undocumented immigrants, he was winning only a quarter of those voters. So there's no question that Donald Trump has found a defensive nationalist, an insular strain in the Republican Party, particularly but not exclusively among blue-collar Republicans that is big, it is real, it is passionate as you heard. But it may or may not be enough to win the nomination.
BROWN: And it's true, though, every time these controversies happen, his poll numbers go up. And the "Washington Post" writes about that saying that this is all part of Trump's strategy.
It says "With each new uproar a largely predictable cycle unfolds. It begins with Trump's bombast, next comes condemnation and predictions that his candidacy is doomed, and followed by his tendency to keep going without backing down.
The pattern has repeated with many of his major controversies. Trump often provokes a fresh whiplash-inducing controversy that eclipses the current one, triggering a new round of free media coverage that cements his place at the forefront of the news cycle."
What do you have to say about that?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. That's a very perceptive analysis. That is in fact what's happening and it has been working for him so far.
The question though I think -- I think people are looking for the wrong thing if there was a cost here. As you heard in that -- from that gentleman, you know, there's not -- I don't think there's going to be a big number of existing Trump supporters who peel off as he gets more and more outrageous. Om fact to them, it is proof that he will do whatever it takes to reverse the trends that they don't like in the country.
I think the real question is the opportunity costs, you know. Whether as the race consolidates and Donald Trump needs to get from 30 or 35 percent to 45 percent or 50 percent to win states as you go down the road, is what he is saying limiting his ability to grow?
And I think if you look at polling, there are a lot of Republicans, particularly white collar Republicans who are more skeptical about Trump's demeanor, his style and his agenda. So in some ways the cost -- if there is a cost to what he's doing now, it will not be fully apparent until we go down the road and we see whether he can in fact build a broad enough coalition that you will need to win when the race narrows.
BROWN: All right. We'll have to wait and see what happens there. Ron Brownstein -- thank you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
BROWN: And a reminder, you don't want to miss the last Republican debate of 2015 right on CNN. Wolf Blitzer moderates that debate Tuesday night at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Still to come right here in the NEWSROOM, an officer on trial for Freddie Gray's death defends himself. Why he says he didn't strap Gray into a seat belt. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:41:56] BROWN: Here's a look at some of the stories making headlines this morning. A California state employee is expected to face charges after a violent encounter with a Muslim prayer group. In cell phone video posted online, Denise later can be heard telling that group that they are quote, "deceived by Satan and filled by nothing but hate".
At one point Slater appears to knock the camera from one of the prayer-goers. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are very deceived by Satan. Your mind has been taken over, brainwashed and you have nothing but hate.
It is inappropriate, you're right, for somebody to tape-record me. It is inappropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lady was talking about my God. She was saying -- you're not touching me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me. You stop.
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call the cops.
BROWN: The man filming that video says he posted it online to raise awareness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RASHEED ALBESHAL (PH): This lady came from nowhere. She was yelling Allah is Satan, your Koran is evil. You guys are a bunch of brainwashed murderers.
Hateful actions like this happen. I didn't know that would happen to me in the Bay area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Slater is refusing to apologize, telling a local TV station that she stands by her comments.
The first of six officers on trial for the death of Freddie Gray takes the stand in Baltimore. Officer William Porter testifying in his own defense, explaining to jurors why he didn't strap Gray into his seat belt during that fatal police ride.
Jean Casarez is right outside the courtroom. So, what was his explanation, Jean?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pam. The explanation for the -- from the defendant on direct examination was that, first of all, the transport van is very narrow. It's 17 inches. For him to go inside and to actually seat belt him in, he felt that it was a danger to the officer for any transportee because his gun would be right there on his right side. It was too able to be gotten by the person that he is transporting.
Secondly, he said he -- he admitted, I was taught that at the police academy that I was always supposed to seat belt somebody in. I signed off on it, I was taught it. But when we went into field practice at the police academy it was never demonstrated, it was never done.
Officer Novak who came after the defendant also testified that he had never seated somebody else with a transport belt in the van.
But what is interesting here -- we want to tell everybody, currently on the witness stand is Dr. Matthew Ammerman who is a neurosurgery expert out of Washington, D.C. and also practices here at Johns Hopkins -- testifying all about the spinal cord right now for the jury.
But what is pivotal in this case are the very stops that were made with Freddie Gray inside that transport van. There were six stops, according to the prosecutor, all in total. It's the prosecution's theory that the injury, the horrific breaking of his neck occurred between stop two and stop four.
Why is that so important? Because it was at stop four that the defendant, William Porter, actually spoke to Freddie Gray. And he testified on the stand, saying that he said to Freddie, hey, what's up? At the very least, Freddie said, help, or the defendant believed he said I need help up, on the bench.
[10:45:08] But then the defendant admits that he said, do you need a medic? And Freddie Gray said yes. The defendant says that he did not call for a medic because he didn't know why. He kept asking him, why do you need one? He didn't have an answer.
Of course, the prosecutor is going to say that it's because he couldn't tell him anymore. He was too sick. The defense is saying that the injury was between the fifth and sixth stop. That was the first time that the defendants knew, had knowledge that there was a medical emergency here -- Pam.
BROWN: Jean Casarez, thank you very much for that report.
And still to come right here in the NEWSROOM, the message one Florida sheriff has for his community: good guys need guns. Details on the Arm Yourself campaign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:20] BROWN: Arm yourself. That's the message from a Florida county sheriff who says he's fed up with recent shootings like the ones in San Bernardino and Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF WAYNE IVEY, BREVARD COUNTY FLORIDA: So let there be no mistake in what I'm about to say. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So that video has gone viral online. It already received more than 4 million hits since it was posted on Facebook. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey insists. He's just says what other sheriffs are too afraid to say and he says you don't have to necessarily have a gun to protect yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVEY: The cavalry is coming, but if you can eliminate the threat or stall it until we get there, that's what we're wanting. There's a taser, there's pepper spray. I don't care if you pick up a brick to protect yourself and save your family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Not everyone is on board with this message. One Facebook user wrote, "Seriously? You want citizens to take up arms? We do not need vigilantes to keep the peace in Brevard County."
Meanwhile as anxiety heightens across the country a gun advocacy group plans to hold a safe mass shooting demonstration right outside the University of Texas this weekend. The group says it wants to raise awareness, but some critics are pushing back.
Our CNN affiliate KXAN has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KXAN REPORTER: UT Students will admit their heads are in the books, prepping for finals, which is why some say they would be alarmed if they saw a mock mass shooting on or near campus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I saw it like in public, I might have actually thought it was a real campus situation going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could be an overdramatized, nonrealistic performance. We're not there to disrupt or panic anyone.
KXAN REPORTER: Murdoch (INAUDIBLE) is president of the two groups hosting the event says they'll use props like oversized cardboard boxes that look like guns. People will be dressed up like victims and will have sounds of gunfire to mock a mass attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is why campus carry is important. This is why gun-free laws are in place for other areas around the states are mad as well.
KXAN REPORTER: Not everybody who is for campus carry believed that Saturday's event is a good idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's irresponsible. I think it's just bad timing. And it's childish.
KXAN REPORTER: Michael Cargill owns Central Texas Gun Works. The well-known gun shop owner says he strongly supports campus carry but thinks having a fake shooting is counterproductive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do your open carry walk but this, what you're trying to do, you're not trying to do anything but try to derail what a lot of people have done in this state to make sure it gets passed and implemented.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And thank you to our affiliate KXAN for that reporting.
Up next right here in NEWSROOM, find out why Madonna took to social media after her concert in Paris last night, inviting fans to meet her in the park for a little impromptu sing-along.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:57:21] BROWN: Madonna surprised fans in Paris last night with an impromptu performance at Plaza de la Republique. She was in the city as part of her Rebel Heart Tour. And after that concert she tweeted that she would head to the square, the scene of a makeshift memorial following the Paris attack. Madonna hugged fans and sang what she called songs for peace. Amazing to see that.
It's sort of like ping pong diplomacy but with a girl band. North Korea is using its most famous girl band to woo China into warmer relations. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on a band that's hand- picked by Kim Jong un --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Most fans have a leader, this girl band has a great leader, North Korea's Kim Jong-un, he is said to hand-pick the members of Moranbong and he attends their concerts.
Three, two, one, lift-off.
To honor an actual missile launch, the band played in front of a replay igniting the audience as the missile struck North America.
But then, when the cheering died down, they launched again. Well, now an attempted girl band diplomacy has been launched. The brand dressed in the North Korean army uniforms headed to China to perform in hopes of improving relations.
Officials gave them a send off at the train station.
Could the great leader himself eventually follow?
ADAM CATHCART, NORTH KOREA ANALYST AND MUSICIAN: You could argue that this visit is kind of greasing the wheels for a Kim Jong-Un visit ultimately to China.
MOOS: The Spice Girls they aren't.
Though they occasionally perform Western songs like "Rocky", they are highly trained musicians.
Now, if Justin Bieber falls out of favor, at least he doesn't have to worry about being purged.
But when the band disappeared for about six months, people worried. The 20 or so members eventually resurfaced but without the biggest star.
Maybe she's just taking a break, but --
CATHCART: That's the thing about North Korea, they can make the most famous, the most honored, the most well-publicized musician in ensemble simply disappear and never be spoken of again.
MOOS: Their dancing may be more Lawrence Welk than it is Beyonce.
But there is a still a blast off.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Well, thank you so much for joining me. I'm Pamela Brown.
"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now. KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Breaking news at this hour -- a manhunt
under way right now for several terror suspects --
