Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Killer's Friend Charged; Encrypted Apps Hid Paris Attack Plot; Disney Parks Add Security; Cruz and Rubio Have War of Words; Nascar's Shortest Driver. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 17, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:12] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And here we are. Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me here on this Thursday.

Here's the news now. Today we do expect to see the first criminal charges filed in the deadliest terror attack in the United States since 9/11. The San Bernardino shooting now 15 days ago. The man likely to be charged has told officials he did not know. Let me repeat, he says he did not know about the plot that would ultimately claim the lives of these 14 people, leaving another 21 wounded. Prosecutors say Enrique Marquez did admit to providing some of the weapons used in that massacre.

Marquez was a friend of the male gunman. As you know the story, he and his wife were killed in that police shootout hours after the couple opened fire inside of that Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. And I can tell you that CNN has just learned they were buried two days ago, though no word as far as where.

Minutes ago, we did see the president of the United States mentioned San Bernardino when he spoke from the National Counterterrorism Center, saying the U.S. is meeting the challenge in a, quote, "new phrase of terrorism."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At this moment, our intelligence and counterterrorism professionals do not have any specific and credible information about an attack on the homeland. We are in a new phase of terrorism, including lone actors and small groups of terrorists, like those in San Bernardino. Because they are smaller, often self-initiating, self-motivating, they're harder to detect. And that makes had harder to prevent. But just as the threat evolves, so do we. We're constantly adapting, constantly improving, upping our game, getting better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in our justice correspondent, Evan Perez, with more on this whole angle.

So what more do we know? These charges with regard to this man do, in fact, relate to the buying of those guns.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: That's right, we expect that the charges that will be announced by prosecutors in Los Angeles will relate to the fact that Enrique Marquez has admitted to the FBI that he bought the two AR-15 rifles that were used, Brooke, in that - in that assault that killed all those people.

BALDWIN: Several years prior, correct?

PEREZ: Had bought them in 2011/2012 and gave it to Farook. Farook had asked him to buy the guns for him because he wanted to avoid, you know, additional scrutiny, according to Marquez. And so that is a technical violation of California and federal law because you're not allowed to buy a gun for the purposes of someone evading the background check. It's a little strange because Farook already owned three guns. He had a background that would have been able to pass a check like this. But he just simply wanted to avoid additional scrutiny, according to Marquez. This is a story that Marquez has told. He's been cooperating with the FBI now for -

BALDWIN: He's the one who checked himself into that mental facility right after this happened, correct?

PEREZ: That's right. That's right. Immediately after the attack he checked himself into a mental health facility, and then soon after started cooperating with the FBI. He's been talking to them almost daily pretty much since then, just over a week. He initially waived his Miranda rights and was able to get a lawyer in the last week or so. And he has been cooperating, providing all kinds of information, including, he says, that back in 2012 he and Farook, Marquez says, that he had converted to Islam at that time and he and Farook planned a terrorist attack around that time, around 2012.

They never carried it out. And we don't know what specifically they were planning to do, but just that it never happened. Again, this is his story. This is a story he's been telling the FBI as part of his cooperation.

BALDWIN: Yes.

PEREZ: He's also told them that he and Farook were working - building pipe bombs as part of a hobby. Again -

BALDWIN: A hobby?

PEREZ: As part of a hobby.

BALDWIN: OK.

PEREZ: And he takes no credit or no responsibility for the IEDs that were found at the Farook house after these attacks. There were 19 devices that were found, including some that were not completed. And, if you remember, at the Inland Regional Center, Farook and his wife left behind a backpack that inside had three pipe bombs that were tied together and were rigged to go off by remote control. They did not go off. Interestingly enough, according to Marquez's story, he's been telling the FBI that, you know, he knew how to build these things. And if he had built them, they would certainly have gone off. Again, that's probably a way for him to disassociate himself from these devices. Again, the FBI's been working to corroborate his story knowing all of this background, including the mental health facility he checked in.

BALDWIN: You would think if you're buying AR-15s for someone, you'd be asking why exactly and what would these be used for?

PEREZ: Right.

BALDWIN: Again, he says, he didn't know what was to be had.

PEREZ: That's right.

BALDWIN: You say the pipe bombs were a hobby. We know the FBI is working to see if he is telling the truth.

PEREZ: Right. (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: Evan Perez, thank you very much for that.

And in terrorism beyond our borders, two developments in the Paris attack that killed 129 people. A source says French authorities are now convinced that the ringleader there, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, returned to France by way of the Greek island of Laros. Greece, as you well know, has been inundated with hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom are, you know, innocent Syrians fleeing that war. It is not clear if Abaaoud exploited the refugee processing system to get through the borders.

[14:05:27] Officials have also revealed the encryption apps they believe some of the Paris terrorists used specifically in the days before the coordinated onslaught on November 13th. Officials say the killers used these apps, WhatsApp and another called Telegram. And investigators conclude that because of the encryption here, they may never know what is in those messages.

Just yesterday the director of the FBI expressed frustration over how encryption often helps terrorists go dark at the most urgent of times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: If ISIL finds somebody online who is a live one, someone who might be willing to travel or kill in place, they will begin a Twitter direct messaging contact. If they really think this is someone who will kill on their behalf, they make another move. They move them from Twitter direct messaging, which we can get access to with lawful process, to a mobile messaging app that is end to end encrypted. And at that moment, the needle that we have been searching a nationwide haystack to find, goes invisible to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, Lance Ulanoff, chief correspondent and editor at large at Mashable. Lance, welcome back.

LANCE ULANOFF, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT & EDITOR AT LARGE, MASHABLE: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: All right, so I think a lot of people - and we were initially talking about, you know, these terrorists using these encryption techniques, I was imagining like numbers and letters and symbols jumbled in codes. And when I started reading WhatsApp, we all use WhatsApp.

ULANOFF: WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage. I mean any of these communication platforms basically have what's called end to end encryption. So a lot of times we'll be talking about this. We've been talking about encryption in the broadest sense possible. And, honestly, it's not that way.

BALDWIN: Spell it out for me.

ULANOFF: Well, there are some things that we do, like online banking, or even e-mail that use what's called SSL, security socket layer, which is basically kind of like a barb wire around your message during transport. But on the server where it sits, where it starts or passes through your e-mail provider and on your device at the end, it's not encrypted. End to end encryption is different, full on. It's encrypted -

BALDWIN: Full on barb wire.

ULANOFF: Full on barb wire that uses disposable, basically, encryption keys that are generated on the fly and then go away. So only the device that - that wants to read it can read it and the person who sent it, and they are kind of using the same key. But that key disappears. And here's the other thing that's really important here. When the FBI talks about this, what they've been talking about for a long time is the government wants a sort of skeleton key for all encryption. They want to have a back door. So, yes, fine, have your end to end he encryption, but when we need to, let us just go in there -

BALDWIN: And that's when private citizens are saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow your role, government.

ULANOFF: Right. Yes. That's when they - they really - they freaked out. Not why have they freaked out about this, because of the revelations by Edward Snowden -

BALDWIN: Right.

ULANOFF: About what the NSA was doing for almost the last 15 years. That kind of caused all the technology companies to ramp up their encryption tactics.

BALDWIN: But why are we just now talking so much about encryption? I mean, obviously, as it's pertinent to some of these terrorist attacks and how they're communicating. But how long has this actually been around?

ULANOFF: Oh, encryption's been around for a long time. I mean it's old technology. It's about the level of it. I mean it's now 256 level basically bit encryption, which is the highest level and un - virtually uncrackable. I mean I always say virtually because a hacker, at some point down the road, is going to figure out how to break it. But this is something that, you know, for example, Apple and iMessages says, we can't get to this message for you. We can't deliver it to you. WhatsApp is going to say the same thing. Telegram is going to say the same thing. They can't break into this stuff. So -

BALDWIN: And that's the fine line for these technology companies who want to play ball, but at the same time want to make sure, you know, folks' information remains private.

ULANOFF: Yes. Well, don't forget that they are delivering information to the government because many of these companies, like Microsoft with their e-mail -

BALDWIN: Yes.

ULANOFF: You know, or FaceBook, they will get requests from the government and they are not using end to end encryption. So when the government goes there, they can gain access to the servers on their side, but only with a warrant and all the proper channels. So that is still possible. But with end to end encryption, no one can. And, you know, going dark is a very real thing. And I think that, you know, people are trying to - these companies are trying to protect the privacy of their customers. Theirs these bad actors coming in, the terrorists. And, you know, one thing about Telegram, by the way, that we should know is, why do they use that so much, because it has broadcast lists. So now imagine the whole -

BALDWIN: What does that mean?

ULANOFF: That means up to 200 people can be on this list who can receive -

BALDWIN: All at once.

ULANOFF: Right, who can receive all at once a fully end to end encrypted message.

[14:10:00] BALDWIN: Got it. It makes sense, I suppose.

ULANOFF: Yes.

BALDWIN: Lance Ulanoff - unfortunately, too much sense for some of them - thank you very much, with Mashable.

ULANOFF: Thanks.

BALDWIN: And perhaps a sign of exactly how much the fight against terror is intensifying here in the United States, there are now metal detectors at Disney World and Disneyland. A spokeswoman says visitors are now randomly selected for a secondary screening by these detectors. She didn't link the move to any particular event, but says Disney is constantly reviewing its security measures.

So with that, let's go to Alina Machado.

Disney not the only huge theme park to do this.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke, it's not just Disney. We know Universal Studios and Sea World are also using metal detectors to screen people who visit their theme parks. Now as you mentioned, Disney will be randomly selecting guests for a secondary screening using these detectors. They've also added what they are calling, quote, "visible and nonvisible" security measures at all of their parks. These measures include the use of specially trained dogs to patrol some of these key areas.

Now, some of the other changes you might notice if you head to a Disney park, they are discontinuing the sale of toy guns on Disney property and they're no longer allowing people to bring a toy gun to the theme park. Also, if you're 14 and older, you won't be able to wear costumes at any of the parks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: The times, they are a changing, I suppose. Alina Machado, thanks for the update.

Now to this, from Russia with love. Vladimir Putin, have you heard about this, calling Donald Trump outstanding, flamboyant, talented. Now he reveals what he would do if Trump were to win the White House.

Plus, is Jeb Bush thinking about backing out of the Republican loyalty pledge over Donald Trump? Hear what his advisers are doing behind the scenes against the frontrunner.

And just absolutely stunning video here. This police officer arriving upon the shoot - the scene of this accident that - shooting this driver seconds after he rolls up. Hear why charges will not be filed.

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:15:31] BALDWIN: From Russia with love. Russian President Vladimir Putin telling Russian media this morning that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is a, quote, "absolute leader" in the race for 2016. Putin said trump is talented, outstanding and flamboyant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): He is a brilliant and talented person without a doubt, but it is not our right to identify his virtues. It is the prerogative of the U.S. voters. He is the absolute leader in the presidential debates as we see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, the feeling is definitely mutual. Trump has publically said that he respects Vladimir Putin. He thinks the two would get along famously. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think in terms of leadership, he's getting an A and our president is not doing so well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

TRUMP: They did not look good together.

I think that I would probably get along with him very well and I don't think you'd be having the kind of problems that you're having right now.

I believe we will have a very good relationship with Russia. I believe that I will have a very good relationship with Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Trump has also said if elected he would expand U.S. relations with Russia. Putin and Trump have not met yet in person.

So let's turn now to two candidates who have been gaining on Trump in the polls, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. In Tuesday night's Republican debate here on CNN, the senators brawled really more than anyone else over immigration, for one. And it definitely didn't stop on the stage in Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Senator Rubio's campaign understands that if conservatives continue to unite, they don't have a path to victory and so their only hope is to try to launch false attacks and, unfortunately, that's something they've been doing more and more.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everyone on that stage talks tough. It's easy. I could stand here tonight and say we're - or this morning and say, we're going to utterly destroy ISIS. We're going to blow them up. We're going to make the sand glow. Any - that's easy to say. What are you going to do it with?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in Todd Gillman, he is the Washington bureau chief for "The Dallas Morning News."

Good to see you again, my friend. Welcome back.

TODD GILLMAN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS": Good to be with you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, so, I want a little fact check from you. Let me just set this up. So - so we know Cruz has supported green cards for foreign workers. Rubio was a leading in drafting an immigration reform bill. They both are now saying they're going to come down, you know, really hard on undocumented immigrants and in amnesty. Both are the sons of Cuban immigrants. The fact check to you, sir. Who do you think is the tougher candidate when it comes to immigration?

GILLMAN: Rubio is the only one who supports a path to citizenship. He supported it in the gang of eight bill and he said in Tuesday night's debate, which Cruz has been whopping him with ever since, that he - if he had his druthers, he would still like to pursuit that as part of a bigger deal that includes lots of enforcement and security. Cruz does not like the idea of any path to citizenship, but he is vulnerable on this issue and this is where Rubio is trying to kick up a lot of dust to blunt his own venerability in this area because Cruz has said that he would like to give some kind of legal status, short of citizenship, to people in the country illegally.

BALDWIN: OK. Staying on these two and this next point totally fascinates me and I have my own theory on this but I want to hear yours. Here you have these two people, you have, you know, Senator Cruz and Senator Rubio, you know, you would look at them initially and think, well, they fall totally differently on the spectrum of Republicans and would have separate bases, and yet here they are sparring from the stage to the trail and I'm wondering why you think these two who seem different are going after the same potentially supporters?

GILLMAN: Well, see, I - I think it's a fascinating dynamic because only three years ago when Senator Cruz was running for the Senate, he and Rubio were not so distinct. They were very much similar Tea Party type candidates. Rubio has ended up being a senator who tries to work with other senators in both parties. Cruz has ended up being a senator who works only with about two senators. Every once in a while he finds a coalition with someone else.

They are very different in certain areas. They are both very ambitious. They are very similar. They don't have the same base at the moment because Cruz really is going after the evangelical vote. Rubio is trying to be the pragmatic conservative. And Cruz is trying to paint him as a centrist moderate, blah, don't trust him if you're a real conservative. But really they're both part of the same camp, which is the, I am not Donald Trump camp.

BALDWIN: OK.

GILLMAN: And that's where they need to draw the distinction to try to be the, you know, the premier not Trump.

[14:20:00] BALDWIN: OK. OK. The I'm not Trump candidate. That's a good one, Todd Gillman.

Here, by the way, are live pictures of Senator Cruz in his yellow plaid - not often we see him out of a suit - yellow plaid there in Las Vegas talking to a crowd. So while we have you, I want to just to some other political headlines out today. Donald Trump was on Jimmy Kimmel last night. This is what he said about his role in the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would like to see the Republican Party come together. And I've been a little bit divisive in the sense that I've been hitting people pretty hard.

JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: A little bit, yes.

TRUMP: And ultimately, you know, we have to come together and get this thing done. And I'm having a great time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Come together. Is this, you know, Kumbaya-esque out of Mr. Trump? What do you read there?

GILLMAN: You know, it's a new theme song for his rallies. I was at his rally in Las Vegas on Monday night and it was, we're not going to take it. So now it's, you know, come together from The Beatles.

BALDWIN: Right. Right.

GILLMAN: I - he's not a come together candidate. He's more than a little divisive.

BALDWIN: We just played coming into you the sound from Vladimir Putin on Trump. Just, final question, do you think - do you see that as a sort of endorsement for Donald Trump there from Russia?

GILLMAN: I - you know, I - I really - I don't want to downplay the wisdom of the Russian president. I think he's spouting conventional wisdom. Donald Trump is the prohibitive frontrunner right now in American politics. The voters will decide. I think he's on pretty safe conventional wisdom punditry ground in saying much of what he said.

BALDWIN: Todd Gillman, thank you so much, Washington bureau chief, "Dallas Morning News." We'll see you next time.

GILLMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: Coming up next, just about 24 hours after a Baltimore judge declared a mistrial once that jury was deadlocked, will there be another day in court for this first police officer of six to go on trial in the death of Freddie Gray? What happens next? What does the mistrial mean for those five other officers due to stand trial as well?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:52] BALDWIN: We're going to take you to Baltimore in just a second here.

But, first, have you heard of this 4'4" Nascar driver who is ripping up the track winning races? Well, he is becoming one of the fastest drivers around. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story in "Turning Points."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Rico Abreu was born with achondroplasia. That's a bone disorder that's the most common type of dwarfism. But that hasn't quelled the race car driver's competitive streak.

RICO ABREU, NASCAR DRIVER: I don't think my stature has affected, you know, my driving style or what I do on and off the racetrack. In anything I've ever done, I've wanted to win.

GUPTA: And win he does. Abreu won nearly a quarter of his races in 2014 and grabbed his first ever Nascar victory in July.

ABREU: Got the lead with numerous laps to go and then lost the lead again and then got the lead back with about ten laps to go and ended up winning the race. Crossing the checkered flag when you win, there's not much more of a feeling than that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the celebration getting ready to get underway as Rico crawls out of the car.

GUPTA: At just 4'4", Abreu has his cars adapted to fit his height and wants to inspire others with dwarfism to find a way to do what they love as well.

ABREU: A lot of people come up to me and say how inspiring I am. I really feel that you can push yourself to, you know, do what you love.

GUPTA: After all, on the racetrack, it's not about how tall you are.

ABREU: Everyone's the same size when they race. And it's just about having the biggest heart.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)