Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Donald Trump Touts Muslim Ban in South Carolina; FBI Recover Items from San Bernardino Lake; Swiss Police Arrest Two Suspected Terrorists; Obama May Bypass Congress on Background Checks; Trump, Carson Threaten an Independent Run; Sandy Hook Mother Fights Gun Violence; Secret Lives of Superhero Hackers; Aired 1-2p ET

Aired December 12, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00] COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: When you hear about the things that happened in Paris and now in San Bernardino, California, does that move you?

KEENAN REYNOLDS, NAVY'S ALL-TIME RUSHING LEADER: It definitely kind of reminds you of why you're over here, the commitment -- the bigger commitment that you made to serve your country and the evil that we're out to protect. So I think it's kind of a centering thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Keenan Reynolds will be the center of attention in the big game today, and it will be our absolute honor and privilege to watch him and his fellow servicemen play in one game for the love of each other and the love of our nation -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Always exciting. That's going to be good. Thanks so much.

Coy Wire, we'll check in with you again.

And we have so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

All right. Hello, again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We're just three days away from the final debate of the year here on CNN. Donald Trump just spoke at a rally in Aiken, South Carolina, where he said if elected, two minutes after he was sworn in, he'd, quote, "unsign all of Obama's executive actions."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't even think he tries anymore. I think he just signs executive actions. The one good thing about an executive action is that the new president can go in -- you don't have to go through Congress, you can just -- and he's a great lawyer. You can just go and sign and it's over, right? It's true. An executive -- an executive action can be, you know, can be defunded, whatever you want to call it. It can be unsigned so quickly by the new president. So what you do is you go in, and I think probably within the first

hour, it could be within about two minutes after I take an oath, assuming I'm lucky enough and we get the support and we get out and vote.

(CHEERS)

TRUMP: We have to get out and vote. But I would be getting rid of a lot of them very quickly in the first hour. One of them would be immigration. He signed an executive order where people can just pour in. Now Alan and a lot of people got very involved with that, and actually, shockingly, not doing badly in court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's go to CNN's Sunlen Serfaty now who is there at the rally.

So, Sunlen, what's been the response?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been an interesting crowd so far here, Fred. First and foremost, many of Trump's rallies and events are known for a protest and today is no exception. As Donald Trump started talking about his proposal that he released this week, to ban, temporarily Muslims from coming into the United States, there was a silent protest that was staged. A group of three people stood up and turned their back on Trump and faced the press. They were wearing small star badges that said "Stop Islamophobia." Another one just said the simple word "human." They were escorted out quickly.

Trump continued later on in his rally. There was another group of protesters, this one more loud, vocal, shouting "KKK" and they had a sign that said "refugees welcome." So certainly big moments here.

I want to turn the camera out here. If you can see, there's a protest going on behind me. Said -- this man says, "Fight power." As you can see, much of the response here at Trump rallies is people shouting "Trump, Trump," trying to drown out those protesters.

And I think it's notable, Fred, that before this speech by Trump started here today, one of the people opening up for him, they instructed the crowd to anticipate protesters. They say, you will likely hear protesters today. Your response should be to shout "Trump, Trump," and drown them out. So a lot of people here in the room have been instructed to have that be their response.

Now, Fred, there still seems to be some protesters behind me going on. We'll have the camera pan over there. As you can see, there's about 4,000 people here today, a big crowd. People are regularly checked for signs and paraphernalia that they bring in. A lot of people waving signs that they've made on the back of Trump signs, writing things. Not clear what this protester is protesting about.

I should note, though, Donald Trump in response, he's pretty used to these protesters now. Earlier today, when the first round of protesters interrupted, he said, you know, it's actually a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing when people in our country can protest, and he said that people like conservatives should have been doing much more protesting the last seven years of Obama's administration.

So, Fred, a rowdy crowd, lively crowd here again today at this Trump rally -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, Sunlen, we're going to give you some time to do some real reporting on that to find out exactly what the people who are now being escorted out have been saying. If they are collectively all on the same page, if they are different messages, opposing messages, because certainly there's a lot of excitement there. But we really would love to have a clear understanding of what is at the root of it all there.

[13:05:06] All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much. I know it was tough to talking with the crowd, the rousing crowd there. So good job on that. We'll check back with you.

All right. So let's talk more about this, Katrina Pearson, national spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, and CNN political commentator Bob Beckel, he is also a Democratic strategist. Both of you joining us right now. Thanks so much.

All right, Bob, you first. You know, we're seeing the crowd there that has turned out clearly of mostly supporters there. But there was some disruption, hard to know exactly, you know, what was being said clearly, and, you know, why they were also being escorted out.

So how do you kind of assess the scene right there because on one hand, Trump is saying, as we heard from Sunlen, he says, it's a beautiful thing that, you know, people can speak their mind, at the same time, people are escorted out. So what do you make of what just happened?

BOB BECKEL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I'm glad to see Trump has sort of changed his tune. You know, not too many weeks ago, a protester was beat up and thrown out by Trump supporters and Trump said, "I think the guy deserves it." And so I'm glad to see he's changed that, at least. But what you see here is the divisiveness of what happens with Donald Trump. He's a very divisive candidate, but he -- listen, 4,000 people on a Saturday is a pretty impressive crowd. So I take nothing away from him.

The point is, though, that when you look at that crowd and you look at the other crowds he gets, it's the same kind of people. They are people who are almost all-white, who are all between the age of 25 and 55, and, you know, I don't think he's got a base beyond that. But so far he's holding up in the polls with that crowd. And that is a sliver of the Republican Party.

WHITFIELD: So, Katrina, how do you assess this? I mean, what Bob was just saying, he gave the demographic, but you don't fit that demographic that he just spelled out. So what is it about what's happening at a gathering like this in Aiken, South Carolina, and this gathering and what may have been protests, still unclear what was happening there on the heels of some of the comments that have been going back and forth between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and Donald Trump challenging whether he could be an evangelical with Cuban roots?

KATRINA PEARSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN: Well, I think that Donald Trump is right. It is a great thing in this country where you can go out and protest your feelings.

And at the same time, you know, Bob, you keep pushing that same narrative that somebody was beat up at a Trump rally. And that just simply wasn't true. The protester came in, started thrashing out at people, and they were defending themselves by pushing him away. No one was beat up at that rally.

But I will also say, that this is the first time in a very long time that we have seen an opposition party rising up out against what's been happening over decades. For 15 years in this country, after 9/11, the borders are still wide open. We have infiltration of ISIS, with a thousand investigations going on right here today. Nothing's been done. They're just now talking about reforming the visa waiver system. This should have all been done 15 years ago to protect Americans.

So, of course, you see the person that's saying, we have national sovereignty in this country and if we don't protect it, we're going to lose our country, of course that person is going to be out there getting all the rallies and getting the people behind him.

WHITFIELD: Bob?

BECKEL: You know, you ought to brief Trump on a couple of things. He said that he was going to -- if he got elected president, he was going to reverse Obama's executive orders, one of which allows thousands, tens of thousands of immigrants -- illegal immigrants into the country. That's not what it says. It says that people who are here would stay here, about 800,000 --

PEARSON: Illegally.

BECKEL: Well, the point is that what Trump said is he signed an executive order allowing more illegals to come in. That's wrong. And I would bet you if you asked Trump to name four executive orders that Barack Obama has signed I bet he couldn't say it.

PEARSON: Well, I will think you will agree that the people that he did sign the executive order are dreamers, which means that they are here in the country illegally which is being challenged in the court system.

BECKEL: Yes.

PEARSON: And Mr. Trump is right. What is done by executive order can be undone by executive order. I think that's really important moving forward.

BECKEL: That's exactly right. PEARSON: Because this president is currently now trying to take away

Second Amendment rights by executive order and you simply can't do that, Bob.

BECKEL: That's exactly right, except what Trump said was he allowed people to come into the country, which was flat wrong. The other thing I find interesting is he's now gotten around to attacking Cruz. Why? Because Cruz has gotten ahead of him in the polls in Iowa. And I wonder when you start attacking a guy for his evangelical roots, let's remember that Cruz's father was an evangelical minister in Cuba. And so I think Trump is stepping into an area here he better be very, very careful, because Ted Cruz has more evangelical in his finger than Donald Trump got in his body.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And Katrina, it's not --

PEARSON: But there Trump did not --

WHITFIELD: -- necessarily right that they're taking away -- that there is a taking away of Second Amendment rights by way of executive order. That could be challenged. But let's talk about what is happening with this kind of dialogue.

[13:10:06] Are we seeing in this race more divisiveness or are we seeing some representation of unity? Because that is certainly, you know, what is being exemplified, whether it be protests or whether it be some heckling, however it's being defined. Something is happening and bubbling up to the surface even more so, Katrina, it would seem, in this political season. So is this healthy? Is this good for the political process? Is this good for America? How do you assess this?

PEARSON: I do. I think it's fantastic for America.

WHITFIELD: Why?

PEARSON: We're having discussions that we haven't had in decades. And I don't think it's just on the Republican side. When you have the Black Lives Matter protesters interrupt the Hillary Clinton speech, I think that goes without saying that there's a lot of sentiment in this country where its leaders have failed them miserably on both sides of the aisle. So I do think it's healthy that we're having this discussion, particularly with regard to national security and people who feel like they're being ignored.

We have a black president for the last seven, almost eight years, and we're having Black Lives Matter protests. And we look at what's happening with Chicago, with Rahm Emanuel. There is something going on in this country and the people feel it intrinsically and all of them are ready to speak out.

WHITFIELD: Bob?

BECKEL: If you call this a discussion, if you call protesters at a rally of 4,000 people a discussion, let's have a real discussion. I'd like to have somebody talk to Donald Trump, specifically about what he's talking about. For example, he says he wants to build a 12-foot fence around Mexico and -- or the border, rather, and I'll tell you what, I'll be the first person to invest in 13-foot ladders, but leaving that aside, he says the Mexicans are going to pay for it. What if they don't for it? Is he going to invade them until we get the money? What is he going to do? Nobody follows up on --

PEARSON: He'd probably cut off their foreign aid. I mean, we give Mexico hundreds of millions of dollars. So I think there is a negotiation to be had in that process but I would like to see Hillary Clinton --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: But what does it say, Katrina, that you said he'd probably, that means everyone is trying to guess here. And here we are at this junction, just, you know, weeks away from a primary.

PEARSON: Well, he keeps talking about negotiating.

WHITFIELD: And caucus and we don't know specifics from a lot of candidates, not just Donald Trump.

PEARSON: He's the only one -- exactly. He's the only one that puts forth policies and says, we have to come to the table. We have to negotiate. We have to re-do certain things. He has put forth his ideas and his vision. Everybody else is just running against Trump. There is no policy or vision they want to put out and talk about several different ways --

WHITFIELD: OK. Last word, Bob.

PEARSON: --- that we can do in this country differently.

BECKEL: OK, the last word I would say is on his policy on Syria, here was his answer. I'm going to sit back and watch what happens. Now if that's a policy, then I'm surprised.

WHITFIELD: All right.

PEARSON: That was the policy when Russia decided to go in and stop the people that are murdering Christians.

BECKEL: I see.

WHITFIELD: All right. So we're three days away from the last GOP political debate of this year, we're going to see and hear if there are more specifics on all of these, and especially as it pertains to national security. That would be the focus.

Katrina Pearson, Bob Beckel, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

PEARSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And just a subtle reminder, real subtle, three days from now, Tuesday night, final GOP debate of the year moderated by Wolf Blitzer. Our coverage from Las Vegas starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time and then, of course, CNN is partnering with the Salem Radio Network on this debate. So you can also listen to it on the radio. Go to salemmedia.com.

Plus, be sure to watch CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow. Jake Tapper will announce the debate lineup and Jake is sitting down with Donald Trump tomorrow on "STATE OF THE UNION," just in case you didn't get enough of the Donald today, he's back tomorrow, 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:35] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're following breaking news in the investigations of the San Bernardino massacre. Divers have pulled items out of a lake, which is about three miles from the site where Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people more than a week ago.

CNN's Ana Cabrera is following the story for us. She's joining us now right outside that lake. Very windy there. What more do we know about these items that may have been retrieved?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we only know that they have found items. We don't know exactly what those items entail or whether they are definitely connected to this case. But the FBI officials confirming that divers have found a number of items.

This is very arduous, painstaking work. This lake is murky, it's dark, it's deep. We know there are three divers in the water today and every now and then you see them pop up. You can see one of those divers along the bridge area. He's been going under, they've been working it from side to side. We've seen divers on this side towards the cameras yesterday working in this area and then now today, there's a couple of divers on the other side.

And what we understand is that they're going to scour as much as they can of this lake's bottom in order to provide assurance that they have pulled anything out that could possibly be linked to the shooters. The FBI telling us that they came out to this area to search because they had received a couple of leads that there perhaps might be something out here, because the shooters were spotted in this park area on the day of the shooting.

And as you're seeing, we are seeing him throw a few items to the shore. Every now and then, we see them pick something up, throw it back in the water. And so it's still a mystery, exactly, what they are pulling out.

But, Fred, we know that investigators are still looking for a hard drive that was missing from the couple's home. And those electronics are such an important part of this investigation and putting the puzzle together, to figure out whether Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook were influenced or directed by anyone or any kind of terrorist group -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ana Cabrera, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Let's get more on these developments. I'm joined now by CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes.

All right. So, Tom, thanks so much for joining us. So again, as Ana said, we don't know exactly what they have found, what they may have even retrieved. Earlier you said, you know, if it does mean like the hard drive or anything electronic, there's a pretty good possibility you could still retrieve information.

Let's talk about what kind of credible information investigators must have had to even go to this lake and feel fairly confident that they might locate something there because this couple had recently been there.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Fred, it could have been as simple as just a neighbor saw this black SUV. At the time didn't think anything of it until later, watching the news, they see that that vehicle or a vehicle resembling that vehicle had been close to that lake. And it could as simple as that.

It doesn't sound like they have area video cameras or traffic cameras that might have spotted the vehicle or spotted them personally, but it sounds like maybe one or two neighbors may have called in and said, you know, now that we see this has happened several hours ago we saw a vehicle resembling that near the lake earlier in the day.

WHITFIELD: And then, Tom, what does this tell you about the level of sophistication of trying to cover up the track? If indeed this couple may have thrown the hard drive or something else in this lake.

[13:20:02] We know and investigators already said that they had crushed, you know, cell phones that they -- that were retrieved from garbage cans, but what does this tell you about the covering up the tracks that indeed they must have been had dialogue with others and they just don't want or they were instructed not to, you know, lead two others or sell leaders, anyone they may have had dialogue with?

FUENTES: Well, I think if they've watched CNN and saw reports on the last 70 arrests the FBI has made on ISIS, either members or wannabe members, they would see that one of the first elements of the investigation is to go to the computer and look up all of the Web sites visited, all of the communications, the contacts, friends, whoever they're reaching, using that computer, that that's a key element of the investigation, as are the cell phones.

But the computer actually is more important because it's used to go to Web sites that would be very revealing of what they were reading, who they were communicating with. So, you know, that would not be rocket science on their part to figure out, get rid of the computer.

You recall in the Boston marathon investigation, Tsarnaev gave his computer, his laptop, to one of his roommates, who then threw it in the trash, the trash ended up in the dumpster, the dumpster ended up in the landfill, and the next thing you see is several dozen FBI agents in hazmat suits going through that landfill to locate it. So they may have realized throwing it in the trash is not the easiest option. Smashing it may not be as easy as it sounds. Throw it in the water, throw it in the lake.

WHITFIELD: All right. Tom Fuentes, thank you so much.

FUENTES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, now to Geneva, Switzerland, where police have made two arrests after finding traces of explosives in a car. A live update, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:33] WHITFIELD: Swiss police have arrested two people with Syrian passports after traces of explosives were discovered in a car. The alert went up after the Swiss received a tip from U.S. intelligence that terrorists were planning to attack the city of Geneva.

Nic Robertson is joining us now from Geneva. So, Nic, so far, these two arrests are not connected to the Paris attacks. Where is this investigation going?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the authorities here in Switzerland, specifically in Geneva, are being very careful about the details that they're giving out here. The two men we know according to Swiss authorities are being investigated for possible ties to terrorist organizations. That's clear. The two men had worked -- Swiss authorities believed to be authentic Syrian passports. They've made that clear.

They've also said that the vehicle they picked him up and had traces of explosives. A European security source, however, describes those traces of explosives more as traces of chemical precursors. That is the sort of chemicals that you would use to make explosives. What the federal authorities here are saying is that they were possibly involved in the manufacture or the transport or the concealment of these explosives if that's what it proves to be.

So at the moment, the details of what the Swiss authorities know are a little bit unclear, a little bit -- kept a little bit under wraps, if you will. They're only giving out a few details. What they are saying, however, is that we can expect more house searches to be coming in the coming days and as well there will likely be more arrests. However they do stress that the people that they pick up and arrest may not necessarily be terrorists. But this really is a city on a heightened state of alert right now, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson in Geneva, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Mortgage rates inched up this week. Have look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:31:02] WHITFIELD: All right. Ben Carson now joining Donald Trump in insinuating, leaving the Republican Party. Carson made the threat after GOP insiders discussed the possibility of deal-making to decide the eventual nominee at the Republican National Convention.

In 1992, businessman H. Ross Perot ran one of the most successful independent party campaigns getting nearly 19 percent of the popular vote. Bill Clinton won, defeating incumbent GOP President George H.W. Bush.

Joining me now, Clay Mulford, who was a Ross Perot campaign manager. Everyone agrees, that was a rather, I'd say, very interesting race, wasn't it? So how difficult in your view, based on your experience, too, will it be to mount a third party challenge here for 2016?

CLAY MULFORD, FORMER ROSS PEROT CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, there are many challenges that make it quite difficult. First you have to be on the ballot to be elected president. And each states' requirements vary and they're very difficult and designed to keep people off, which requirements that are often ludicrous and nonsensical. And the -- the combination of early voting, early filing deadlines and high numbers of signatures make it a very daunting task, most often.

So, for example, Donald Trump would really need to start initiating processing by the beginning of March, the first deadlines are, for example, in Texas, which is a very high requirement of about 80,000 signatures. North Carolina is soon after that with a 90,000 signature requirement. And those are due in early May. And so on and so forth, through June, April, and so on. So that takes -- that's a big challenge.

The second thing is to be taken seriously and not -- be subject to a wasted vote syndrome, as it's sometimes called. You need to be in the presidential debates. And that is not a given, although now the Commission on Presidential Debates has a requirement that says if you're 15 percent in the polls, you are in. But in truth, in reality, in any serious person that covers the Commission on Presidential Debates knows this, the candidates control what happens and who is invited.

So, for example, Ross Perot got into the debates in 1992, thanks to the George Bush campaign, they want a hitman and voted into the agreement with Clinton and Ross Perot was not even a party to the agreement. Right? And then we did some negotiation to make sure that happened. Third, you've got the electoral college issue.

WHITFIELD: And you really aren't talking about the primary debates?

MULFORD: No, I'm talking about the general election debates as an independent.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MULFORD: So if --

WHITFIELD: Because if -- as far as we've seen so far, all of these candidates have -- you know, they've had their time, at least, this year. And if we're talking about it, I mean, your first challenge that you spoke of, you know, anyone who's threatening a third party run, they really have to kind of have their ducks in a row to meet these deadlines.

Do you have any sense whether a Donald Trump or even Ben Carson are even moving towards that March or May deadline because we know they've already been on the stage with these -- you know, with these debates thus far? And their plan is to be part of them, you know, once 2016 rolls around as well.

MULFORD: I'm not sure I quite understand the question, but the debates and the primaries are different from the debates in the general election. And those are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. What I'm saying is it's very important, not only to get on the ballot, because if you're on the ballot as an independent candidate, no one can vote for you.

WHITFIELD: Right.

MULFORD: But if you're not in the presidential debates, you're not -- and you run into what's considered the wasted vote syndrome. You know, for example, the exit polls in '92, one of the questions asked by people that did not vote for Perot was, would you have voted for him had he thought he could win? And if everyone who said that had voted for him, he would have won the popular vote.

[13:35:05] WHITFIELD: Right.

MULFORD: So that's a daunting -- it's a daunting issue for any third party candidate. So it's easier for Trump or Carson to stay in, if they can win the primaries.

WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling that they are testing the waters, when Donald Trump and Ben Carson speak now about that possibility, do you see any laying off the ground work that they would really be serious about it?

MULFORD: I do. And Donald Trump had considered it before, as early as 2000. And I assumed his people, since he's mentioning this again, are figuring out the road map, which is a complex road map to master, to make it work.

For both Carson and Trump, their base of support probably exceeds simply the Republican demographic. There are probably people that are independent or don't generally vote or some Democrats. So it may be easier in a way for them to run as an independent, but it's much, much more difficult.

WHITFIELD: All right. Clay Mulford, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

MULFORD: My pleasure. WHITFIELD: All right. Don't miss the debate on CNN, Tuesday night

6:00 and 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time and CNN is partnering with the Salem Radio Network. To find the debate on the radio in your area, go to salemmedia.com. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As we near the third anniversary of the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook, President Obama prepares to move forward on gun background checks without congressional approval. The White House could soon be finalizing new executive action.

[13:40:12] CNN's Chris Frates joining us now from the White House. So, Chris, how soon do you think the president might be acting on this?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the million-dollar question. Right, Fred? The president has asked his team to come up with a plan to prevent gun violence. That includes expanding background checks. Valerie Jarrett, one of his top aides, said repeatedly this week that she hopes that will happen in short order.

But remember the context here, Fred. Congress is very unlikely, under Republican control, to pass any expanded gun restrictions and Obama after the San Bernardino shootings is looking at an executive order to make something happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think the working assumption of this ongoing review is that Congress hasn't acted and they haven't acted. And that's been the source of immense frustration on the part of the president and a lot of people in the executive branch and frankly a lot of people all across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So one of the things they have under consideration here is closing the so-called gun show loophole. That's where some sellers at gun shows can avoid a background check. The White House and their lawyers looking into how they may be able to make more sellers liable for the background check.

We talked to the NRA, and their spokesman said that Congress' agenda has -- the president -- excuse me, the president's agenda has already been rejected by Congress. They say, quote, "Now he's doing what he always does when he doesn't get his way, defying the will of the people and using executive action."

Now this executive action has hit some snags, Fred, both legal and administrative, so there's not a clear sense of when we might see some new regulations out of the White House. It could be a few months yet until we see any kind of action here from President Obama -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Frates at the White House, thanks so much. So Valerie Jarrett met with families of the Sandy Hook tragedy on

Wednesday to discuss gun safety ahead of the three-year mark of that massacre on Monday. I spoke actually exclusively to one Sandy Hook mother who is using her grief to help schools across the country stay safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (on camera): When you walk down a school hallway, what does this feel like?

NICOLE HOCKLEY, CO-FOUNDER, SANDY HOOK PROMISE: Especially at this time of year, seeing, you know, some of the winter decorations and classroom doors and it just -- schools always have a very similar feel, look and feel, wherever you go.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): That's because Nicole Hockley's 6-year-old son, Dylan, was among 26 killed in an unspeakable massacre at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School.

HOCKLEY: I can picture Dylan running through the halls and that's -- that's hard. And seeing kids, especially the age that he should be now.

WHITFIELD: He would be 9 now, in the fourth grade. Hockley says her memory of what happened on December 14th, 2012, is still incredibly vivid, as is the last time she was in Sandy Hook school.

HOCKLEY: My husband and I went back and we walked the halls and I was able to spend some time where his body was found and I left behind two purple butterflies, one for him, and one for Ann Marie, his special education teacher, to just try to connect with them in some way.

WHITFIELD: Today.

HOCKLEY: That's where you guys have been making a difference.

WHITFIELD: Hockley digs deep. Connecting with lots of children at dozens of schools across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What can we do to help our school?

HOCKLEY: For me, wanting to provide a legacy for Dylan and honor his life and also, you know, protect the lives of those who survived, including my older son, Jake, and give them something, a positive future to look forward to, that's why I've thrown myself into this issue and how do we get ahead of violence and stop it before it starts?

WHITFIELD: Turning her pain into a promise that all schools should be, can be safe, not later through legislative policy or stepped up security, but now, through personal responsibility.

Hockley and other Sandy Hook families founded the group Sandy Hook Promise to help each other heal and provide training for both adults and young people on how to detect and help prevent gun violence. HOCKLEY: Teaching kids how to learn the signs of someone who might be

at risk, such as drastic changes in behavior, drastic changes in actions, those are just all things that can be -- anyone who is suffering from any sort of potential crisis, and get that person help, there's a very small nexus that leads to gun violence, but it's really about helping everyone.

[13:45:01] WHITFIELD: Sandy Hook Promise issued a challenge to schools nationwide, to come up with their own approach.

Students at this Oklahoma high school were so moved, they launched their own Say Something campaign with signs, bracelets, and this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something to me. I promise I won't judge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say something to me. I promise to understand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something to me. I promise I will find you help if I can't help you myself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something. I promise I can help.

WHITFIELD: The video made a big impact.

PAIGE PETERSON, FRESHMAN, MOORE HIGH SCHOOL: We have officers here and, you know, staff members that will protect us. We have lockdown procedures. But, you know, seeing the video and being in the video, it kind of made me realize, especially the statistics of how many people can cause school violence, based on, you know, home life, personal life. It just really got to me.

NOAH RAMOS, SENIOR, MOORE HIGH SCHOOL: Just simple things like smiling in the hallways instead of just going through with a stony face. Making an effort to talk to people and sit with them if they're not with anybody else and actually actively making friends.

WHITFIELD (on camera): What do you say to that person who's by themselves?

RAMOS: You don't even have to say anything, really. It's just the presence. Just sit down with them. How are you today? Do you want to eat with me? Simple things like that.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): And so Hockley's group awarded Moore High School $10,000 to take it even further. For students here, their incentive has been personal.

RAMOS: We've faced a lot. We've taken a lot.

WHITFIELD: Just two years ago, the natural instinct in Moore of looking out for one another was put to the test. Tragedy of a different kind struck. A killer EF-5 tornado. Noah Ramos remembers.

RAMOS: Minutes after the storm, there were already people out digging through the rubble. Friends of my family were at Plaza Towers, pulling kids out of the rubble. No matter what, we know what to do. It's not a drill for us anymore. It's not something new, it's our way of life. We know what to do. Wherever the traffic lights stop, we do -- we turn it to a four-way stop. We don't need stop signs or police officers.

The first responders here aren't always the firemen and the policemen. They're the community. The citizens. If they can do that, then I'm sure we can do something as simple as ensuring the safety of our students.

WHITFIELD: Everyone has a process.

(On camera): What about your husband and Jake?

HOCKLEY: Jake's doing well. This is the first year we're going to put up a Christmas tree, so tomorrow we're going to go find a tree. And we're making ornaments with our friends on Sunday, because all of our old ornaments were very personal and every ornament has a memory, so we're trying to create new memories now.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): New memories and a new outlook, this mother admits.

HOCKLEY: You guys continue to just take my breath away.

WHITFIELD: Have come in the hardest way.

HOCKLEY: I didn't know that this was going to be the way my life went. This was not one of my original choices. I was very content just being a mom to my two boys. Losing my son at Sandy Hook, I hope you never, ever have to understand how that feels. To lose life in that way is even -- can be even more heartbreaking because you're always consciously aware of what could have been.

If you can think about every single time why you want to prevent violence, why you want to save a friend, why you want to have a safer school and a safer community, that inspiration and motivation is going to keep you going.

This is one of my whys. This is my son, Dylan, who was 6 when he was killed. My other son, Jake was 8 when he lost his little brother and he was also in the school at the time of the shooting. He's also my why.

WHITFIELD: And why, she says, everyone plays a role.

HOCKLEY: Dylan was autistic and he had some developmental delays, but one of the things that he did to show his happiness and his energy was to flap. Dylan was a flapper. And I asked him once, why do you flap, and he said, because I'm a beautiful butterfly.

[13:50:02] And it's been said that a butterfly on one side of the world flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side. At Dylan's funeral, I said, if that's true, then 26 butterflies flapping their wings can do more than cause a hurricane. They can change our country. Well, you know what? I look out here, there's a heck of a lot more than 26 butterflies in this room. You're all butterflies. You're the ones who are flapping your wings.

And you're the ones who are going to make the change happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And to help families heal, the old Sandy Hook school was destroyed. A new structure is expected to be opened next year. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The secret world of hackers. It isn't just made up of criminals trying to steal money, identities, and information. There are also hackers who work to protect people and companies against the bad guys.

[13:55:10] Our own Laurie Segall infiltrates the hidden underworld of hackers in her new special airing this afternoon on CNN at 2:30 Eastern Time.

Laurie joining me now. All right, so you met some of these paid hackers and you called one kind of like this new breed of hacker. What do you mean?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: You think of a hacker, you think of a dude in a basement, typing away, hacking on their computer.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SEGALL: These are socially smart hackers. It's called social engineer, they call you up and get you to share information or click on something you would never click on. And I interviewed one of the best in the business, his name is David Kennedy. He gets paid by companies to break in and make sure, you know, they're not vulnerable. You're about to see that they are vulnerable and he gave me a demo. He spoofed his number, looks like he was calling from within the company, called tech support. And watch what happens.

WHITFIELD: My goodness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID KENNEDY, PROFESSIONAL HACKER: Hello, are you there? Hello?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, it's Ken. Can I help you?

KENNEDY: I was wondering if you can take a look at a Web site I'm trying to get to, it's for a big customer thing I'm working on for Monday. And I can't seem to get to the Web site from my computer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. What's the Web site? I'll see if I can get through.

KENNEDY: Thanks, man. I really appreciate the help. I mean, it could be a stupid thing. I really suck with computers. But it's a -- so it's www.survey, S-U-R-V-E-Y, dash, pro.com.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I got a prompt to open. I just clicked open. And I'm on the site right now.

SEGALL: Here's what the IT guy doesn't realize. By clicking that link, he's just given David full access to his computer.

KENNEDY: OK, that's weird, I just hit, and it works. It seems working find now. Awesome. I don't know what you did, man, but I really appreciate the help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, no problem. That was easy.

SEGALL: That was it?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: Oh, I know, that's so painful.

WHITFIELD: I feel bad for the guy at the other end.

SEGALL: You know, but this guy is doing it because he says OK, the company's vulnerable, the, you know, IT needs to know that people could be targeting like this. And once David is in there, he can get to all the different computer systems and what he said to me essentially you can take down the companies in their system by just the IT guy clicking on that one link.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. So the value -- some companies want somebody like Kennedy, a hacker, because they want to be able to protect their own company but at the same time, then there are people who doing it, what, for pleasure. We know, you know, identity theft is huge. But what is the incentive for others to be able to infiltrate, to be hackers? What is it with that underbelly, that underworld of being a hacker?

SEGALL: It's the most interesting --

WHITFIELD: Different incentives.

SEGALL: The most interesting part of this whole series is everyone hacks for a different reason. Someone like David uses his powers for good. I'm not saying hacking is a super power, you use it for good or evil. He does it to protect people.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And then you get a fancy title with it.

SEGALL: Yes, exactly, right?

WHITFIELD: OK.

SEGALL: But then you have the folks who want to make a ton of money and they can make a ton of money. If they found that same exploit and then they sold it, they could probably make a lot more money. That's what's interesting about this community.

WHITFIELD: It's also fascinating and we get to learn more with Laurie this afternoon, 2:30 Eastern Time, "The Secret Lives of Superhero Hackers." That's today. 2:30 right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)