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Shooter's Neighbor Arrested on Terror Charges; Cruz and Rubio Trade Punches Over Immigration; Hillary Clinton Blast Republicans' Fear-mongering; Russia's Naval Might. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 18, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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


[10:00:38] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Poppy Harlow in this Friday for my friend Carol Costello. Thank you for being with me. 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. on the West Coast.

In just a few hours President Obama is holding his year-end press conference. Weighing heavily on the president will be this nation's deepening concern over terrorism.

Also later today, the president will travel to San Bernardino, California. He will meet with the families of those killed in the shooting rampage there just a few weeks ago.

The attacks, at least inspired by ISIS. And investigators have now charged the killer's former neighbor, Enrique Marquez. He says he unwittingly supplied Syed Rizwan Farook with some of the weapons because they had planned their own terror attacks together years ago.

CNN justice correspondent Evan Perez with us now.

It's been days and days that we've been tracking and authorities have been questioning Marquez. Why the charges now and what are they?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the charges are material support for terrorism, this gun charge essentially, you know, lying on a federal application to buy this handgun.

HARLOW: About why you --

PEREZ: Why he bought these -- the two rifles that were being used in the attack. And then the third charge is for essentially visa fraud because he married a woman, got paid money to marry a woman who is part of the extended family of Farook. And really the reason why the charges came is that, you know, he's been talking to the FBI, Poppy, for over a week. Cooperating, providing all kinds of information and finally they've gotten to the end of that process. They've gotten as much as they could get out of him.

Really trying to figure out, you know, if they can -- he can shed light on what these two people were up to, Farook and his wife. And it's fascinating, this criminal complaint because it really describes new information about this 2012 period when Marquez --

HARLOW: Right.

PEREZ: That he and Farook came up with this plan.

HARLOW: Do we know why? Because at the time, years ago when these two met, Marquez was a teenager. Right? And it appears that he was radicalized by Farook.

PEREZ: By Farook.

HARLOW: How?

PEREZ: They become -- they become friends. And Farook introduces him, it looks at this point Farook is already radicalized. He's already become a lot more religious. And he is immersed in the lectures of Anwar aw-Awlaki, the star Yemeni cleric who really influenced a generation of jihadis around the world, especially Westerners. The American cleric, he was killed in a U.S. drone strike, as you remember.

And not only that, but I mean, Marquez and Farook appeared to be taking all kinds of influences, including propaganda from al-Shabaab, the Somali radical group.

HARLOW: Right.

PEREZ: And it really gives you a picture because by the time this attack happens two weeks ago in San Bernardino, now Farook is onto ISIS. It really gives you a picture of how radicalization in Western countries happens, right?

HARLOW: And remarkable that there were no red flags. Now we know how far back this went.

PEREZ: There were no -- right. There were no red flags whatsoever.

HARLOW: Law enforcement had no idea.

PEREZ: Right.

HARLOW: Evan, thank you. Great reporting throughout on this.

PEREZ: Sure.

HARLOW: Now to politics and the race for White House, Senator Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio throwing punches, back and forth, back and forth, when it comes to immigration. You saw it during this week's CNN GOP debate in Las Vegas. Cruz came out swinging against Rubio for supporting a 2013 immigration proposal that granted undocumented immigrants to pass this citizenship. Rubio now accusing Cruz of muddying his own political record for political gain. Cruz now out with this attack ad hitting back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration is a matter of national security. That's why I fought so hard to defeat President Obama and the Republican establishment's Gang of Eight amnesty plan. Their misguided plan would have given Obama the authority to admit Syrian refugees, including ISIS terrorists. That's just wrong.

When it comes to radical Islamic terrorism, I think we need to rediscover Ronald Reagan's strategy. We win, they lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And on the campaign trail, the fight certainly also taking center stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's going to have a hard time because he's not told the truth about his position in the past on legalization. What's happening here is pretty clear. I think Ted wanted to leave the option of legalization open. He wanted to get through a primary without having to discuss it. I know he never brings up his support of legalization in Iowa in his stump speeches but he supports legalization and I think his hope was, once he got into the general election, to then start talking about legalization as a way to attract more voters.

[10:05:06] CRUZ: For the first time in five debates Senator Rubio publicly admitted not only did he support Obama and Schumer's amnesty but he still supports amnesty and citizenship today. He had avoided doing that in the first four debates. He explicitly admitted it in this last debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: With me now to talk about all of it, CNN senior political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson.

Nia, when you look at the critical Latino votes, specifically for the GOP contestants here, who is playing better with that group of voters?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends. I mean, if you look at the primary, the GOP primary, not a lot of Latino voters are going to be voting in these states. Particularly those early states. But when you look at a general election, of course, they're going to be a lot more Latinos in crucial states like Nevada, Colorado, Florida, and even Virginia.

And so if you look at that, I think Rubio is probably playing a little bit better. But then again, here is a person who was very much for amnesty, which is what the GOP folks and primary base voters call it, for pathway to citizenship, and very much a part of that bill, but now seems to have walked away from at least that bill.

And there you have Rubio also arguing that Cruz is also trying to play it both ways. On the one hand pitch himself as something of a purist and very hawkish on immigration reform and illegal immigration on a general but then in a general election would pivot from that stand. So this -- IO mean, I think, here we see the contours of this campaign. But also I think Cruz has definitely tried to lay down the gauntlet. We have him here yesterday talking about this, trying to clarify and we can toss to that sound. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: I oppose amnesty, I oppose citizenship, I oppose legalization for illegal aliens. I always have. And I always will. And I challenge every other Republican candidate to say the same thing, or if not, then to stop making silly assertions that their records and my records on immigration are the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDERSON: This debate is going to continue with these two men, very similar backgrounds, but obviously they see a very different path to this nomination. And then in terms of what they would do in the general as well. So a preview of what's to come over these next many weeks.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Nia-Malika Henderson, thank you very much, live for us from Washington this morning.

Also want to tell you about what is a major blow for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders' camp. The DNC has suspended his campaign from a database after at least one staffer accessed confidential voter information belonging to his rival Hillary Clinton.

That staffer has now been fired. But the staffer insists he wasn't doing anything wrong. He said he was only trying to see how poorly Sanders' data was exposed. He told CNN by phone today, quote, "We were just trying to understand it and what was happening to the best of my knowledge, nobody took anything that would have given the Sanders campaign any benefit."

The data breach happened after a software error that essentially dropped the program's firewall. That database is considered a gold mine of voter information. It's often used by campaigns to strategize their next move.

The campaign will remain on suspension until it provides the DNC with an explanation of what happened. And also until they're able to prove that accessed data has been discarded. And so stay with us later this hour, Larry Cohen, a senior adviser for the Sanders campaign, will join me live.

Rival Hillary Clinton taking aim at the GOP candidates for what critics say is outright fear-mongering after this week's debate in Las Vegas. In a new Web ad, Clinton accuses her rivals of spreading fear instead of facts and says, shallow slogans are not enough to make you qualified to be president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The threat we face is daunting, but America has overcome big challenges many times before. And I am confident we will once again choose resolve over fear.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everywhere in America is a target. CLINTON: Shallow slogans don't add up to a strategy.

CRUZ: We win. They lose.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We want to make America great again.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will take our country back.

CLINTON: Promising to carpet bomb until the desert glows doesn't make you sound strong, it makes you sound like you're in over your head.

CRUZ: Saturation bombing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump mentioned --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: With me now to talk about all of this, former Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm. She is also senior adviser for Correct the Record, a pro-Hillary Clinton group and super PAC. We're also joined by Republican political consultant and president of Empowered Women, Mindy Finn.

[10:10:02] Thank you both for being here, ladies. Let me begin with you, Governor Granholm. The ad, the ad we just saw, is that a preview of what we can expect from Clinton tomorrow night at the Democratic debate?

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, SENIOR ADVISER, CORRECT THE RECORD: Well, certainly I think all the Democrats will be pointing to how the Republicans are trying to gin up fear. They're selling fear. They're not selling security. And I know that she, as well as the others, have been saying that the contrast between the depths of the plans that she's offering and the bumper sticker solutions that the Republicans are offering could not be greater.

That contrast is really important for the voters. And I would just say, too, what they're trying to underscore is that the fear-mongering that the Republicans are engaged in, particularly against the Muslim community, not just in the U.S. but around the globe, is dangerous to our troops, it's dangerous to the business people who are serving in Islamic countries, it's dangerous to our diplomats.

Islam is the largest religion in the world. Fifty countries are Muslim majority countries, 2.1 billion people. Do you really want the United States to be seen as the anti-Islam place, which is what Trump's posture has made -- Trump's brand is now the Republican American brand.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: To be fair --

GRANHOLM: That's not helpful. HARLOW: To be fair here, Governor, almost every other candidate on

that stage on Tuesday night condemned what Donald Trump had to say regarding banning Muslims temporarily from this country.

Mindy, to you. Let me read a quote from candidate Ted Cruz about carpet bombing ISIS saying, I don't know if sand can glow in the dark, but we're going to find out rhetoric like that, hawkish rhetoric. What do you say to Governor Granholm and those who accuse a candidate in your party of using that to their benefit and fear-mongering.

MINDY FINN, PRESIDENT, EMPOWERED WOMEN: Well, look, the Clinton campaign is very good at reading polls. And they're right that the American people are looking for resolve. And we making sure that we have a plan to defeat ISIS. And they've lost faith and trust in the plan that the Obama administration has put forth because it has not worked. And Hillary Clinton as the head of the State Department could be seen as the architect of that plan.

So I'm not surprised that she's concerned at this point that the number one issue in this race will be terrorism and who can keep this country safe. Who do the American voters trust to keep the country safe? And that will trump a lot of these other issues. And it's a vulnerability for Hillary Clinton at this point.

HARLOW: Let me jump in there to say a new Monmouth University poll that just came out actually shows it unlike Republicans, Democratic primary voters pick the economy and jobs as their top concern.

But, Jennifer Granholm, to you, can you respond to her criticism that, you know, is it going to be difficult for Hillary Clinton to differentiate herself from the Obama administration's policy on ISIS?

GRANHOLM: Well, the Obama administration's policy on ISIS is not different than what the Republicans are suggesting when those who have any plan. Yes, you want to make sure that you intensify the airstrikes. They're doing that. Yes, you want to take out the leaders. They're doing that. And for Hillary Clinton, in particular, she wants to have a no-fly zone. The Republicans, many of them, are suggesting that as well.

But what she is doing and what the Obama administration is doing is suggesting that you need a 360-degree strategy. It is not just war and war only. It is also online. It is also what you do with the Muslim community here and making them your allies. It's also making sure that your Muslim allies overseas are part of the coalition. And if you're insulting them, and it's not just Donald Trump who's insulting them, if you are insulting them, then it's very difficult to create a Sunni army which is what's got to be the bulk of the boots on the ground over there.

She is not vulnerable. In fact, when terrorism is raised, there was a "Washington Post" poll a few days ago that said among all Americans, who do you trust more in the war on terror? Hillary Clinton is up 50 percent to 42 percent among all Americans.

HARLOW: Let me get -- GRANHOLM: And the reason for that, her experience gives people

confidence.

HARLOW: Let me get Mindy in here for a final thought. Mindy, when you look past the primary and you look to a general election and you consider some of the numbers that the governor did throw out there in terms of the number of Muslims in the world, the number of Muslims in this country right now, are you concerned at all about some of this rhetoric, how it plays in the general?

FINN: Well, I think it really depends on who Republicans nominate. I mean, we do have a couple of candidates. Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz and others who polls show could beat Hillary Clinton in this race. So while I think that Donald Trump's rhetoric, anti-Muslim rhetoric, is quite dangerous, I don't believe that he will be the nominee. And I think the fact that, you know, President Obama has infamously said that ISIS is a JV team and Hillary Clinton has said that she couldn't have predicted its rise, Republicans are the ones that are going to come out on top when we get into this general election and showing that they take this threat seriously, and they're not going to hold back in putting forth a plan to go after it and defeat it.

[10:15:03] HARLOW: Jennifer Granholm, Mindy Flynn, thank you very much. We will be watching.

Again, the debate is Saturday night. Thank you both.

In a bipartisan vote on Capitol Hill this morning, the House has just passed a $1.1 trillion measure to fund all federal agencies through September. It avoids a government shutdown next week. It now moves to the Senate for approval.

The spending bill was one of the final pieces of House business before those lawmakers leave for the holiday. The White House has said the president will sign this legislation.

Still to come, a floating fortress. CNN gets a firsthand look at Russia's naval might right off the coast of Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Off the coast of Syria a huge warship looms near the city of Latakia, the hub of Russia's relentless air attacks on jihadis rebels. The ship also sends a sobering message to a key U.S. ally.

CNN's Matthew Chance is on board. He brings us an extraordinary view from inside the Kremlin's military offense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Off the Syrian coast, a rare glimpse of the naval power behind the Kremlin's air war. We were ferried offshore by the Russian military.

(On camera): This really is extraordinary access that we're getting to Russia's military operations in and around Syria. [10:20:02] You can see we've been brought off the coast of Syria. Now

we're in the eastern Mediterranean. And we're just about to go on board that ship there, it's called the Moskva, it's a missile cruiser and it's one of the most important Russian vessels in this entire region.

(Voice-over): On board we were shown why the Moskva is such a formidable symbol of Russian power. After the shoot-down of a Russian warplane by Turkish interceptors last month, the Kremlin vowed to destroy anything that threatens its aircraft in Syria.

The captain of the Moskva told me his ship, bristling with anti- aircraft missiles, was sent as a warning on the direct orders of a furious Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

ALEKSANDR SHWARTZ, CAPTAIN OF MOSKVA MISSILE CRUISER (Through Translator): The Moskva in itself a threatening weapon. And with its arrival in the region, we have noticed the significant decrease in activity in the skies over Syria.

CHANCE: Other countries bombing Syria, in other words, have taken notice.

(On camera): Well, this is an extremely impressive bit of military hardware out here in the Eastern Mediterranean. It's a missile cruiser. You can see it's got these enormous missile launching tubes which can carry a nuclear missile, although we're told there were none on board at the moment. It's got this big gun as well to defend itself. But most importantly, this ship, the Moskva, has very sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, that's why it's been deployed here off the coast of Syria to provide air defenses for the Russian warplanes to carry out their air strikes back there in Syria.

(Voice-over): Already Russia has used its naval power to strike targets across Syria, firing cruise missiles from ships in the Caspian Sea and from a submarine in the Mediterranean. So far the Moskva has yet to fire a shot in anger, but its mere presence off Syria is delivering a powerful message.

Matthew Chance, CNN, on board the Moskva missile cruiser.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Matthew, thank you very much.

President Obama now just hours away from his final press conference of the year. And his seventh year in office comes to an end as many Americans are gripped by terror fears. Terror is expected to be a focus of the president's address this afternoon before he heads to San Bernardino, California, tonight.

CNN's special coverage of the president's address begins at 1:40 p.m. Eastern time.

Still to come, a terrorist that attacked in Paris made his way there it appears through the Greek islands with other refugees. What is being done to weed out the ones that need help from the ones -- from this terrorist, for example. We'll have a live report. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:26:52] HARLOW: All right. We want to take you now to Chicago where former city police officer Jason Van Dyke will appear in court today. He's charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting last year of teenager 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Dash cam video showing the event contradicts the officer's report that McDonald threatened them with a knife. We know Officer Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times. Most of those bullets struck when McDonald was already down.

Our Rosa Flores covering the story for us today. I know he's made that initial court appearance. He got out on bond. What do we expect today?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Poppy. Jason Van Dyke expected to be in court today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern after the release of a grand jury indictment.

Now this shows six counts of murder and one count of misconduct. Now it's all related to the Laquan McDonald shooting. Now he is the teen who was shot and killed by Jason Van Dyke in October of last year. Now like you said, Van Dyke is on $1.5 million bond.

Let's be clear here, his attorney from the get-go has said that Van Dyke used proper use of force. We're expecting him to plead not guilty to all of these charges.

Now there's going to be something very different about this particular hearing. Hear this. A select number of cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom to capture the entire proceeding. That's very rare in the state of Illinois. But the media requested it and the judge granted it.

Now the Laquan McDonald shooting triggered a USDOJ investigation, which is still under way with the U.S. DOJ sending out a release yesterday with a status update saying that two days of meetings have occurred, both with the Chicago police department and also with the mayor's office. The mayor also sending out a release and a statement saying that he is working with the USDOJ and hopes to restore public trust and integrity here in the city of Chicago.

Well, like we said, Jason Van Dyke expected to face a judge today at 1:00 p.m., Poppy. And like we've seen for weeks now, we are expecting more protests throughout the holiday season -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Rosa Flores live for us in Chicago. Thank you very much.

Good morning again. I'm Poppy Harlow in today for Carol Costello. 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Thank you for being with us.

We have new details on the refugee crisis that are certainly raising concerns and security questions across Europe. Officials now say the number of refugees entering Europe by land and sea will reach one million by the end of this year. So, in just a few weeks. This comes as investigators look into whether the ringleader in the Paris attacks took advantage of the refugee process to cross right into Europe.

A CNN source says French authorities firmly believe that Abdelhamid Abaaoud was on the Greek island of Leros weeks before the attack.

CNN's Sara Sidner is live from one of the other Greek islands that has been a major focus, that is the island of Lesbos and you're seeing these refugees pouring in. How is that tying in the refugee concerns with the security concerns?