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Ted Cruz Questions Trump and Carson on Their Judgment; Taliban Claims Responsibility for Kabul Attack; FBI Says San Bernardino Shooter Had Ties to Jihadist; U.S. Intercepted Talks of Geneva Attack; Protesters Call for Ouster of Chicago Mayor; Terrorists Using Digital Technology; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 11, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:01] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Can't wait to watch it.

"CNN QUIZ SHOW" airs Sunday night, 7:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

Thanks, Robin.

The next hour of CNN begins right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BROWN: And good morning. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We begin with breaking news out of Afghanistan.

The Taliban now claiming responsibility for this attack in Kabul. Taking to Twitter just moments ago. Police are at the scene right now where there was a big explosion and gunfire. An Italian aide agency in the area says the attack happened at the Spanish embassy. This is an area where many expats live and work.

Sune Rasmussen is a journalist with "The Guardian" in Kabul. He joins us now on the phone.

A lot of new developments here just in the last 15 minutes or so, Sune.

SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN, REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: Yes. So like you said, Taliban claiming responsibility for the attack. This is a guest house off foreign (INAUDIBLE) under attack. Now there are reports that we get, that you also mentioned, perhaps the Spanish embassy is under attack. I can't confirm that from here and police and officials are not confirming that. But it is close the site of the embassy and this is an area where there are a lot of foreign embassies and they get out. So, I mean, there's still not a lot of things that are being confirmed from the official side but it's getting slightly clearer that either an embassy or guest house belonging to an embassy.

BROWN: And what more do we know about this claim of responsibility? Obviously, it needs to be verified, but what did we learn?

RASMUSSEN: This is basically what we know, that they're claiming responsibility, and then the attack is ongoing. And there's not so much we know really because normally these claims come a little bit later in the attack. Often the Taliban want to see if there's a lot of civilian casualties before they claim responsibility but this is -- comes only like an hour and a half after the explosion, after the attack started. So pretty fast, I guess.

BROWN: Right. And we've seen in the past, other terrorist groups just claim responsibility and not turned out to be true so we will wait to see if that is verified.

Sune Rasmussen, thank you very much for that. We appreciate it.

BROWN: And this morning Ted Cruz and Donald Trump on a collision course after audio surfaces of Cruz questioning his Republican rivals' judgment. The comments coming just days after Trump sparked outrage for calling for a temporary ban on Muslims in the U.S.

And a new CBS News poll taken after those controversial remarks shows nearly 6 in 10 Americans say Muslims should not be banned from entering the country.

CNN's Athena Jones joins me now with more so.

Athena, Ted Cruz has been one of the few candidates not to try to hit Trump, but now he seems to be changing tunes, behind closed doors at least.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Good morning, Pamela. Look, we know that Trump's top spot in the polls makes him a top target for the other GOP contenders. But Cruz hasn't been attacking Trump in public. This new leaked audio from Ted Cruz is raising questions about whether he's going to become the latest candidate to try to knock Trump from his perch, not just in private but publicly like for instance at the CNN debate in four days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Both of them, I like and respect both Donald and Ben. I do not believe either one of them is going to be our nominee. Their campaigns have natural arch.

JONES (voice-over): Newly released audio from a private fundraiser provided to the "New York Times" reveals Texas Senator Ted Cruz questioning the judgment of frontrunner Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

CRUZ: Who am I comfortable having their finger on the button? I think -- look, people run as who they are. I believe that gravity will bring both of those campaigns down.

JONES: Cruz has avoided public criticism of the billionaire. But now just four days away from the next CNN Republican debate, Cruz may not be able to avoid him anymore.

The senator now polling second in the latest national GOP poll, even though Trump is leading by almost 20 points. This as Trump continues to outline controversial proposals.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anybody killing a police officer, death penalty. It's going to happen, OK?

JONES: The latest, Trump says if elected president, he would sign an executive order to mandate the death penalty for convicted cop killers.

TRUMP: Police forces throughout the country have had a hard time. A lot of people killed. A lot of people killed very violently, sitting in a car, waiting, sitting in a car, watching, and somebody comes from behind.

JONES: And Trump's plan to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. igniting a firestorm of backlash.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I no longer think he's funny.

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Yes. I will say I started --

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Yes.

JONES: And it doesn't appear to be resonating with voters. More than half saying they oppose his controversial ban in a new national poll.

[10:05:05] Trump's divisive proposals are making the GOP nervous. Meanwhile, CNN has learned that a group of Republican leaders met in private to discuss a plan for a contested convention, which would be triggered if no candidate has enough delegates to win the nomination.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, Pamela, we know that Donald Trump spends a lot of time consuming news and that he spends a lot of time on Twitter. And so he took to Twitter this morning to respond to those comments from Cruz. Here's one of his tweets. He said, "Ted Cruz should not make statements behind closed doors to his bosses. He should bring them out into the open. More fun that way." Here's another one, "Look like Ted Cruz is getting ready to attack. I am leading by so much he must. I hope so. He will fall like all others. Will easy."

So there is Trump weighing into this conversation. And, Pamela, you know that he's right about that second point. A lot of other candidates have tried to attack Trump, bring him down. And they're the ones who have suffered. So we'll see what happens with Ted Cruz a few days from now -- Pamela.

BROWN: And no surprise that Trump was quick to pounce.

Athena Jones, thank you so much.

And joining me now, Bob Cusack, editor-in-chief of "The Hill."

So, Bob, thanks for coming on. Let's first address these Cruz comments that he made behind closed doors a few days ago. We heard Cruz declined to make what he called personal attacks and then this audio surfaces just days before the next Republican debate. Is this a strategy, perhaps a play to pick up more of the voters he referenced?

BOB CUSACK, EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE HILL: Yes, absolutely, Pamela. I mean, Cruz has done well. The Cruz campaign has picked up a lot of former Carson supporters. Carson's campaign in a bit of a freefall right now. And Cruz has made the decision, I'm not going to publicly go after Trump. I don't think this criticism was that biting. Jeb Bush also got in some trouble because apparently behind closed doors months ago he ripped Trump and then he denied it at the debate.

So I do think this is going to come up at next week's debate. But Cruz's strategy has been a wise one. He thinks that Trump is going to fade and he's going to pick up those supporters because he hasn't been that critical. But as you mentioned, it wasn't that surprising to see Trump go after Carson on Twitter.

BROWN: Right. And we're seeing --

CUSACK: Cruz.

BROWN: -- Cruz in the number two spot now. And let's talk about this new CBS News poll out. This was after Trump made those comments about the travel ban. And it showed that majority of Americans do not support this travel ban for Muslims. But yet within the Republican Party, more than 50 percent support it. And it does raise the question, so if Trump is the next Republican nominee, what would that mean for him in the general election?

CUSACK: Well, I think all these guys are thinking about just winning the primary now. And certainly, Trump -- this was not an off-the-cuff remark that he made. This was a release that he put out on his Muslim policy. So very calculated. Maybe did some poll testing beforehand. But clearly, this is resonating with a faction of the Republican base. So yes, could this hurt him in the general election? Absolutely, as your poll shows. But at the same time, he's just focused on winning the Republican primary. He's doing well, but also Cruz is doing well in Iowa. And that's triggered all this debate about a possible brokered convention.

BROWN: And let's talk about someone who's going down in the polls. And that's Ben Carson, who, you know, used to be number two, right behind Trump. He just issued a statement saying, if the powerful try to manipulate it, the Republicans -- guys, I need to see this because the quote, here it is.

"If the powerful try to manipulate it, the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next summer, it may be the last convention. I am prepared to lose, fair and square, as I am sure is Donald, but I will not sit by and watch a theft." Carson added that he and Trump won't be the only ones who leave the GOP should a brokered convention go through.

Is he right? And let's talk about this idea of a brokered convention.

CUSACK: Well, I think it's smart for Carson to put out that statement because the headlines have not been good to him recently, specifically on foreign policy. So certainly he is an outsider. Carson is an outsider. Trump is an outsider. And even though he's a senator, Cruz is an outsider. And all three are doing quite well right now. So they hear that Republicans are having these, you know, private meetings, the these dinners, talking about the brokered convention, insiders.

So it's natural that they're going to pounce. And remember, they all signed the pledge. So as Trump says, well, listen, if I'm not getting treated fairly by the party, then I might run as an independent.

BROWN: Yes. He's certainly keeping that door open.

Bob Cusack, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

CUSACK: Thanks, Pamela.

BROWN: And still to come right here in the NEWSROOM, the hunt is on for terror suspects in Geneva this morning. We are now learning a major U.S. city is part of a dangerous plot. We'll be right back.

[10:09:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: New developments in the San Bernardino shooting. The FBI is now looking into Syed Rizwan Farook's ties with a group of jihadists who were arrested in California back in 2012. Meanwhile dive teams are searching a lake that officials believe the shooters may have visited prior to the attack. One of the items that divers likely are looking for is a missing hard drive from the couple's computer.

CNN's Ana Cabrera is live for us in San Bernardino. So has the search resumed, Ana?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pam. You can actually see some of those FBI investigators arriving on scene here behind me. They're pulling out gear, they're getting some stuff set up alongside the lake, where we anticipate they'll be searching for much of the day. They were here for several hours yesterday and they say this could be a search that takes days. They are looking for any evidence, they say, that may be linked to the shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

[10:15:04] They believe that they may have been in this area on the day of the shooting. We're told investigators are following up on a couple of leads that brought them to this park. They've already scoured the surrounding area. Now it's the lake they have to get through, which could be a long and arduous task. It's very murky water that they'll be working in.

Now we're also learning this morning that investigators are going back and looking closer at whether Syed -- Farook, excuse me, had any connections to a terrorist cell that was broken up here in California a few years back. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BOWDICH, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE: We did arrest four individuals back in 2012. They have since been convicted of material support to terrorism. Those individuals were not planning to conduct a terror attack in the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Rather that terrorist attack plan was supposed to happen overseas, in Afghanistan, where a group of four individuals were planning to join the Taliban and al Qaeda to attack a U.S. military base. Now there is some indication that Farook may have been in the same social circle as the Taliban group leader, that leader who was trying to go join the Taliban here in the U.S. So that's what they're going to back to investigate this morning to see whether he had any ties to that terrorist cell.

Of course in 2012, you'll recall, that's when Enrique Martinez has now told investigators he and Farook, friends and neighbors, were planning some kind of an attack here on U.S. soil here in California, Pam. So there are a lot of twists and turns as we continue to learn more about the investigation.

BROWN: And that Enrique Marquez still talking to investigators. He has not been charged.

Ana Cabrera, thank you very much.

And speaking of terrorism, police in Geneva, Switzerland are hunting for five terror supports. According to a source, the suspects are linked to the Paris attacks. And it's not just Geneva. Extremists were looking at targeting a major U.S. city, too. This as we learned new stunning information about how the U.S. discovered that threat.

Nic Robertson is in Switzerland with the very latest -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Pam, in the last hour or so, the Geneva airport here has been on -- part of it was on a lockdown as police investigated two suspicious items of luggage. This is because there's a heightened security threat going on. This is normal that they would be hyper vigilant at this time. So what happened was, one of those items of luggage turned out to be a piece of lost luggage. The other one was steroid through a controlled explosion.

So authorities here on really a hair trigger and their concern stemmed from three pieces of information. Very significant information coming from U.S. intelligence officials, saying that they picked up chatter between four ISIS individuals inside Syria that indicated that they were potentially planning an attack here in Geneva. And also potentially planning an attack in Chicago.

Now the Swiss authorities are very concerned about this because the whereabouts of these four individuals right now is now unknown. At least a couple of them, we're told, speak French. They'll be able to operate here pretty easily in and around Geneva. Two other items that had been important for Swiss authorities, a vehicle registered in Belgium, delivered into Switzerland. Of course Belgium connected with that terror plot and the terror attack in France.

When authorities here went back and tracked down that vehicle, they discovered it belonged to an associate of the Paris attackers. The vehicle has been found. He hasn't. That's a concern. Also one of the attackers in the Paris attack, his identity has only been discovered in the last few days, turns out the man who recruited him to ISIS came from the Geneva area.

He's in French custody. However, he also recruited another Swiss man from this area to ISIS. He went to Syria. His whereabouts now unknown. That's causing a concern, are these three pieces of information. Connected, how are they connected, what it's leading to at the moment is this very high security concern and they're raising the threat level here -- Pam.

BROWN: A lot of information there, Nic. What about this U.S. plot that's connected to all of this?

ROBERTSON: Well, the concern is that these four individuals that were picked up through eavesdropping on communications, their communications indicate that they were not just planning potentially an attack here in Geneva, Switzerland, but also in Chicago in the United States and potentially other locations in the United States.

It's not clear how far down they're sort of planning they got with these ideas, whether it was speculative chatter, whether or not this has now gone to some sort of encrypted form of communication that can't be traced and tracked right now but the concern is that -- that it was picked up by these individuals.

[10:20:04] These individuals were in Syria, were associated with ISIS. But now their whereabouts are unknown. And as we've seen here in Europe, once somebody has been to Syria, connected with ISIS and their whereabouts are unknown, it's potentially they could here into Europe, and potentially they could get beyond even potentially through the United States. So this is a concern right now -- Pam.

BROWN: Yes, we saw how easy it is with the Paris attacks.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

And still to come on this Friday morning, protesters calling for more change in Chicago. They want the mayor out. Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Calls for the resignation of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel are growing louder this morning. Protesters marched overnight at the city hall as we see right here.

[10:25:01] This as MAYOR Emanuel comes under fire for his handling of the city's police force. A department which is now subject to a federal investigation by the Justice Department. CNN's Rosa Flores joins us now with the very latest.

Rosa, what can we expect there today?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, good morning. You can see around me that it's pretty calm this morning. Yesterday between 75 and 100 protesters hit the streets, again asking for the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. But let me give you the background here and the past two weeks the mayor has asked two officials to resign, including the superintendent of police. Now there's a search, a national search for that superintendent to be replaced.

Now the mayor also replaced the head of the Independent Police Review Authority. Now that is the authority that reviews all officer- involved shootings in Chicago. But like I mentioned, the protests continue. At the height of these protests these past few weeks, about 200 protesters have been hitting the streets in Chicago, asking for the resignation of the mayor and also the Cook County state's attorney Anita Alvarez.

Now I should add that even a presidential hopeful has chimed in, saying -- and this is Ben Carson, saying that the shooting of Laquan McDonald is disturbing. But again, take a look around me this morning. Normal traffic here. You can see city hall behind me. No protesters yet this morning. But we'll have to see, Pamela, how the day turns out. Back to you.

CABRERA: That's right. And all of this is going on as the search continues for a new police chief. What do we know about that?

FLORES: Well, it's a national search, as you might imagine. Chicago is a very big city so they're calling for the best and the brightest to come and help fix the issues in the police department. The mayor asking for police accountability and transparency. So from what we understand this national search is going on. They're asking people to apply. The Board of Police will take a look at all of those applications and then recommend three of them to the mayor.

And then, of course, that position is appointed by the mayor. So he will have to decide who leads the Chicago Police Department -- Pamela.

Rosa Flores, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And we've been following breaking news out of Afghanistan. This morning the Taliban is now claiming responsibility for this attack in Kabul. Police right now at that scene where there was a big explosion and gunfire. Seven Afghans were injured. An Italian aid agency in the area says the attack happened at the Spanish embassy. And this is also an area where many expats live and work.

BROWN: Meantime, digital technology has made it much easier for the U.S. and its allies to monitor terrorist communications around the world. And now the terrorists are trying to stay one step ahead by using advanced encryption that cannot be deciphered.

CNN's Brian Todd joins us now with the troubling details here. And Brian, you actually got a demonstration of how this works. What

did you learn?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, we've learned how remarkably easy it is for terrorists to hide their communications using encryption technology that's available to all of us. A case in point was the morning of the Garland, Texas, attacks last May. The FBI is still frustrated that they still cannot break the encrypted communications that were flying around just before that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): In the hours leading up to this nearly catastrophic terror attack, the targeting for Prophet Mohamed Cartoon Drawing contest in Garland, Texas, one of the gunman, the FBI says, believed to be an ISIS sympathizer was communicating frantically with someone overseas.

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: He exchanged 109 messages with a terrorist. We have no idea what he said because those messages were encrypted. To this day I can't tell you what he said with that terrorist 109 times the morning of that attack. That is a big problem.

TODD: The gunman could have been communicating with Junaid Hussain, the notorious head of ISIS' hacking division, killed recently in a U.S. drone attack. Hussain is believed to have inspired the Garland attack and may have directed it.

This kind of terror chatter in the dark is one of the greatest challenges in stopping the next major terror attack. U.S. officials say terror groups are perfecting the use of encrypted communications. Conversations chopped up into a jumble by mathematical algorithms.

MATTHEW GREEN, PROF. OF APPLIED CRYPTOGRAPHY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: They do a very good job of hiding whatever you're saying for being intercepted by somebody who like a government.

TODD: Islamic extremists even have their own brand of encryption technology called Mujahideen Secrets 2, developed or at least modified by supporters of al Qaeda. Experts say it helps terrorists communicate in secret and there's a mobile version of it.

ISIS has developed a mobile app, according to site intelligence, that provides updates on news and propaganda with videos. And jihadi Web sites publish tutorials with instructions telling militants how to hide their tracks online and which apps to use for the most secrecy.

LAREDO VIDINO, DIRECTOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM: They provide pretty sophisticated guidelines on what kind of technology to use, what to talk about, how not to get their communications intercepted.

TODD: Text encryption techniques are right of the show "Homeland." Matthew Green who teaches applied cryptography at Johns Hopkins showed us one way terrorists can make their texts disappear.