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Sanders and DNC Reach Deal before Debate; FBI, U.S. Marshals Searching for Affluenza Teen; Three Men Charged with Attempting to Aid Terror Groups; Poll: Las Vegas Debate Doesn't Scramble GOP Field; Cruz, Rubio Spar Over Immigration; Trump On Putin: "He's A Strong Leader"; "The Force Awakens" Shatters Box Office Records. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired December 19, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:59:54] AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: What does purr-bacca sound like?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go.
WALKER: There we go.
BLACKWELL: There we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job -- Ryan Cullo.
WALKER: Thank you, Clay. And thank you for watching.
BLACKWELL: Yes, there's much more ahead on the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. We turn it over now to our colleague, Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good to see you just bring all of that energy right over here. Join me at the table.
BLACKWELL: Move close.
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WHITFIELD: Ok -- all right. Good to see you guys. Happy holidays. Last big shopping weekend I know that's where you're going.
BLACKWELL: I'm done.
WHITFIELD: You are?
BLACKWELL: All online.
WALKER: Not shopping.
BLACKWELL: All online.
WALKER: Not breaking the mall
WHITFIELD: Maybe I'll get started today.
WALKER: Procrastinator.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you guys. Have a great one.
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WHITFIELD: All right. It is the 11:00 Eastern hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. NEWSROOM starts right now.
Ahead of tonight's Democratic presidential debate, an 11th hour agreement has been reached between Bernie Sanders and the Democratic National Committee, to allow the Bernie Sanders campaign to regain access to voter files. The DNC cut off Sanders from a crucial voter database saying that the campaign wrongly accessed data gathered by Hillary Clinton's team. Sanders filed suit in federal court last night claiming the DNC was handing out a death penalty by revoking the Sanders campaign access.
DNC chairman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, spoke to CNN last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The DNC is now letting the campaign back on to the porch. I mean if this was fewer than 12 hours ago, why now restore this despite the continuation of the investigation. All you said in that sound bite yesterday is true today.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL), DNC CHAIR: What we had been asking for that they had been refusing to provide us with is who on the Sanders campaign accessed the information, what information they accessed. They needed to show us that they didn't have it anymore and that they weren't able to get access to it and manipulate it.
And that's why the access was cut off to the voter file because they were refusing to give us that information. And until we could see and know that they were no longer able to use information that did not belong to them, we couldn't grant them access to their voter file because they could manipulate it and use it their strategic advantage.
Our job at the DNC is to neutrally manage the primary to make sure there is a level playing field between all candidates. And unfortunately when the Sanders campaign after this window opened through a glitch from our vendor, their staff took advantage of it.
In a sense, they went into the unlocked door of the house and rummaged around, took things that didn't belong to them and then actually accused the homeowner of violating the terms of an agreement when they had unauthorized access to the house and took things that didn't belong to them.
It was pretty outrageous but like I said I am glad that we were able to reach an agreement. We asked them for this information for two days, they refused to give it to us and we're not agreeing to participate in an independent audit. They have now done that and agreed to fully cooperate with the DNC's continuing investigation.
And we'll get to the bottom of it. We'll make sure that while we're continuing the investigation, they have given us enough information for us to grant access to their voter file.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. CNN's Chris Frates joining me now with more on this dust-up in the Democratic race for president and this, just hours now before the Democratic debate this evening -- Chris.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right -- Fred. And the Democratic National Committee and the Sanders campaign brokered this uneasy truce in what is a very messy internal fight. And now both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns are spitting the outcome as a victory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We will be in federal court this afternoon seeking immediate relief.
FRATES: That was Bernie Sanders campaign manager issuing a threat Friday that he made good on hours later -- suing the Democratic National Committee for cutting off the campaign's access to a crucial voter database.
WEAVER: The leadership of the Democratic National Committee is now actively attempting to undermine our campaign.
FRATES: The dustup started after the DNC accused the campaign of exploiting a software glitch to access Hillary Clinton's confidential voter information.
The DNC database uses a firewall to separate data gathered by different campaigns. But that firewall went down briefly on Wednesday during which time Clinton's data was accessed.
The Sanders campaign's national data director who was fired after the breach says he wasn't trying to view Clinton's data and no voter information was downloaded. The DNC suspended Sanders' database access including access to the information that the campaign itself collected.
WEAVER: You don't get to give the campaign a death penalty because some young staffer who's been fired made an active misjudgment.
FRATES: Then, late last night a resolution to the dispute -- sort of. The DNC agreed to restore the Sanders campaign access to voter files noting that the campaign had supplied the information the committee requested regarding the breach.
[11:05:08] But the back and forth between the campaigns continued with each side spinning it as a victory for their team. Sanders' campaign declaring, "We are extremely pleased that the DNC has reversed its outrageous decision."
Clinton's team saying, "We are pleased that the Sanders campaign has agreed to submit to an independent audit to determine the full extent of the intrusion its staff carried out earlier this week." (END VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES: So this fight could very well spill over tonight in New Hampshire when Clinton and Sanders duke it out in the third Democratic debate. Clinton could continue to argue that Sanders hit below the belt using the dust-up to show that Sanders is just another politician not the center of some political revolution as he's tried to position himself.
And Sanders for his part could try to fire up his liberal base by arguing that the incident it is just another example of the Democratic establishment trying to hobble his insurgent campaign -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: And then Chris, what do we know about the kind of information that the Bernie Sanders campaign was able to access by going into what their campaign has been saying was an open door?
FRATES: Right. This is really nitty-gritty, inside politics kind of data but it's the kind of data that wins elections and that's why the Clinton campaign is so sensitive about. They have projections of voter turnout in places like Iowa and New Hampshire.
And also they were able to get their hands on the multiple searches in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, where voters were asked to score their enthusiasm, their support for Hillary Clinton on a scale from 1 to 100. The Sanders people did searches on that and found that people over 60 and the people below 30. That's important, because if they know people who are very enthusiastic for Hillary Clinton, they won't target those people.
If they are below 30, those people might be looking for an alternative to Clinton. Those would be smart for Bernie Sanders to target. And anywhere between 30 and 60 could be fertile ground for Sanders people.
So that is what has the Hillary Clinton people so upset. They are not going to say so publicly but that was what was fueling it. Kind of these inside data nuggets that the Sanders people were able to get a look at it that could maybe give them what the Hillary Clinton people would argue say is an unfair advantage -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: And then Chris, quickly, why wouldn't the Hillary Clinton campaign want to say that out loud?
FRATES: Well, I think, you know, they don't want to inflate this. And they don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of this fight. They feel like it is being handled. But the infernal fight is much, much bigger than the public fight at this point.
WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Frates, thanks so much.
We are not done. Let's talk more about this. Let's ask Democratic strategist, CNN political commentator Maria Cardona and Robert Zimmerman, a Clinton supporter. Good to see both of you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning -- Fred.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to be with you.
WHITFIELD: Ok. I can't to hear what you are thinking about all of this.
Maria -- you first. You know, this is the last thing the Democrats really want, you know, to be the center of attention as they look towards the debate this evening breaching, you know, breaching of this computer database.
In your view, why wouldn't the Hillary Clinton campaign want to make more of it just coming off the heels of what Chris just said?
CARDONA: Well, I think for a couple of reasons -- Fred. I think, first of all she is ahead. She's ahead by more than 30 points. She's ahead in a lot of the key states. Neck and neck in New Hampshire. I think what her focus should be tonight is to focus on the issues. That is what has been so successful for her thus far, to focus on what she wants to do for America's middle class families, to focus on her national security credentials. Right now she is the most trusted candidate on either side of the aisle by quite a bit -- a big margin on the issue of national security.
She will also want to continue talking about issues of economic security and focus on the conversations she has had with people in New Hampshire and Iowa and these early states.
I think that if Bernie Sanders does try to go after her on his then yes, absolutely. I think she will hit back with the fact that this was a very serious breach and with the fact that it doesn't purport to equal the kind of campaign that he has been thinking or about running or talking about running in terms of being a different kind candidate.
So it's going to be interesting how handles this as well. It will be interesting in terms of how he handles this.
WHITFIELD: And so Robert, I wonder this evening, yes we know that -- you know, the questions will be asked by the moderator accordingly. Do you see a Bernie Sanders right out of the gate saying let me set the record straight on this? Because after all he has been the anti- establishment candidate and he has to either put this to rest or try to control what now looks like he is very much the establishment kind of candidate?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Fred, that's very much the situation. He has got to be able in this debate to be able to make it clear that he is coming forward and engaging in full disclosure with the Democratic National Committee.
[11:09:59] I mean putting aside my support for Hillary Clinton, you have objective senior analysts like Ron Brownstein who called what the Sanders campaign did as being truly egregious.
The data director had to be fired, three more are under investigation. And I think for the Sanders campaign, it is so important to step up, acknowledge the mistakes that were made and the misconduct that took place and try to move forward. What's really creating, I think a lot tension is now the Sanders campaign after engaging in these outrageous acts is now claiming they are the victim. And I think that's just infuriating on many quarters. In New York, we call that kind of political tactic chutzpah.
WHITFIELD: Claiming that they are the victim by the way of the DNC -- that the DNC, as the allegation from the Sanders campaign is that the DNC is picking sides.
ZIMMERMAN: That's right. That's what's happening now, is there is going to be an independent audit done to evaluate the extent of the damage that's been done and also to evaluate how many more people in the Sanders campaign were engaged in this egregious breach.
But the point is for the Sanders campaign to turn around and now say they are the victims when they committed this matter really is chutzpah.
WHITFIELD: Ok. And meantime there are lots of complaints even coming from Martin O'Malley, the other candidate, the third person who is going to be on that stage who says wait a minute, let's talk about what the DNC's role is here and why it picks another Saturday for the debate and the next debate is on a Sunday.
So Maria, you know, Martin O'Malley's campaign is also making the argument that this ends up benefiting Hillary Clinton and that the DNC manufactured this scenario.
CARDONA: No, not at all. I mean it was not the DNC's fault that staffers for Bernie Sanders took advantage of some glitch in electronics that keep the voter file. When the wall was down, they went in there to look at proprietary data. That was not the fault of the DNC. That was the fault of these Bernie Sanders staffers. And they have acknowledged that by firing one and the other three are under investigation. This is very serious.
WHITFIELD: But as it pertains to the dates of these debates -- I mean that's the argument that's being made that --
ZIMMERMAN: Fred -- the reality is --
CARDONA: And just very quickly on that, what people need to understand is that the debate's structure was agreed upon by all of the campaigns and by the networks that were putting on the debates. I actually do wish that they were during the week and I think the Hillary Clinton campaign would not be somebody that would say that they want to bury their candidate on a weekend either because she is actually very good in these debates.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Ok -- Robert.
CARDONA: But let's remember --
ZIMMERMAN: I think the reality here is -- CARDONA: -- this was agreed upon by all of the candidates.
ZIMMERMAN: I think the reality here is obviously when you see candidates in severe deficits in the polling, they start to challenge the debate schedule. They start attacking the party structure. That's not unique. I've been engaged in some of those campaigns too.
But the reality is, what really defines the Democratic Party is how we can differentiate ourselves from the Republican candidates. We are going to have some tensions on our end and maybe we'll need some group therapy when this process is over. But the Republicans are going to need -- the Republicans will need anger management therapy when their process is over. I'm more comfortable where we're at.
WHITFIELD: Ok.
CARDONA: Fred, just one more really quick thing. If the shoe were on the other foot -- if this had been something that had been breached by the Clinton campaign, I assure you that the Sanders campaign would be thrilled at how the DNC is handling it and they it would have been handling in exactly the same way.
WHITFIELD: ALL RIGHT. MARIA CARDONA, ROBERT ZIMMERMAN: -- Thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.
CARDONA: Thank you so much.
ZIMMERMAN: Great to be with you.
WHITFIELD: Ok. Tonight, CNN's Wolf Blitzer has special coverage after the Democratic debate starting at 10:30 Eastern time. This indeed is still the place you want to be for politics.
Republicans meantime, this weekend are all out in full force on the campaign trail today: Ben Carson holding a town hall in the critical state of Iowa; Jeb Bush campaigning in another key state New Hampshire; and Ted Cruz visiting the Deep South for a rally in Georgia. All that as the first poll since the GOP debate is released. That is coming up.
Plus, a teenager who killed four people in a DUI crash has simply vanished. He had argued that he suffered from affluenza, brought up wealthy with no limits. Now, he and his mom are missing.
That story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:17:28] WHITFIELD: All right. Right now -- the FBI and U.S. Marshalls are broadening their search for the Texas affluenza teen, Ethan Couch. Couch is believed to be on the run with his mother and they may be carrying their passports which are missing.
The teen got 10 years probation, no jail time for killing four people in a drunken driving crash back in 2013. The case made national headlines when the rich boy was described in court as having affluenza. Nick Valencia is here with the very latest on this -- Nick.
NICK VALENCIA, FOX NEWS HOST: You remember this, two years ago. I mean it caught the nation's attention -- this affluenza defense very bizarre defense but he ended up getting off. He ended up getting probation. For now the U.S. Marshall is offering about $5,000 for information leading to his arrest. This young man, this 18-year old, doing just about anything to avoid jail time. And now, him and his mother -- he and his mother -- are on the run.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA: It's this video that eventually led to the manhunt. Posted on social media this month the clip seems to show a group of college-aged kids partying while playing beer pong. Among them appears to be Texas teen, Ethan Couch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need some an ambulance. It's bad. We flipped, and oh, my god.
VALENCIA: Two years ago, Couch, then just 16 years old, was sentenced to ten years probation after killing four people while drunk driving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And two of those were my wife and daughter.
VALENCIA: His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. As part of a deal, Couch agreed to stay away from alcohol or end up going to jail. In a bizarre defense, Couch's attorney convinced the judge that Couch was a victim of affluenza -- the product of wealth and privilege, with parents who never taught him the difference between right and wrong.
Listen to what Couch's mother said during a deposition, from one of the victims' civil suits against her son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When is the last time you recall disciplining Ethan for anything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't remember.
VALENCIA: Now the teen and his mother have gone missing. Couch apparently fled shortly after this video was made public, apparently to avoid violating the probation deal. According to Reuters, the teen's father told law enforcement the passports of both Couch and his mother are also gone.
DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF: I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.
VALENCIA: County sheriff Dee Anderson tried to lock up Couch two years ago.
ANDERSON: I think this was planned and I believe that they planned to get away, and I believe that they're going to run far and try to hide.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VALENCIA: Authorities believe that Couch, that 18-year-old, and his mother, may have left the country. As we mentioned in that report, the father has told Reuters, that media outlet that the family passports are missing. So they may be on the lamb out of the country, Fred?
WHITFIELD: Any ideas on what country?
VALENCIA: We don't I mean, you know, authorities that I mentioned -- we don't know. Authorities are being very hush if they do have any inclination where he is right now, where he is hiding, where he may have gone -- we don't know that.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Valencia, thanks so much.
VALENCIA: Yes.
SAVIDGE: Straight ahead, a Pennsylvania teenager is facing charges of trying to help ISIS. Officials say he was sharing propaganda on 57 twitter accounts. What else investigators found in his home next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Three men in the U.S. are being charged separate attempts to support terror groups: one in California, another in Pennsylvania and a third near Washington. Authorities confiscating ammunition and untangling roughness of social media accounts used communicate with the terrorist Washington.
CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: WE have to be made vigilant here at home.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Newly unsealed court documents paint a clearer picture of the government's efforts to catch potential terrorists before they strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm literally shocked.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Freemont California are stunned over allegations made against Adam Sheffie (ph). The 22 year old man was stopped by the Fed as the tried boarding a flight from San Francisco to Turkey last summer. Wire taps revealed Sheffie believe America's is the enemy and he said to a friend, "I am content to die with them" -- referring to the terror group al-Nusra front.
The FBI believes he was headed to joint he organization when he was stopped. Scheffi's legal team denies those allegations saying their client was simply on a humanitarian mission.
[112504] It's pretty crazy it's, you know, right here at home it's a different story. SANDOVAL: People in Harrisburg Pennsylvania are reacting to the arrest of their 10-year-old neighbor Jalil Aziz. He's believe to have spread ISIS rhetoric on social media using at least 57 individual Twitter accounts. Prosecutors allege the Young also shared the names and addresses of U.S. service members calling for violence against them.
High capacity magazines, ammunition and a survival kit were found in Aziz' home last month; investigators say it's all evidence he plans to launch an attack in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was ever quiet. You never would have known.
SANDOVAL: About an hour from the nation's capital Mohammed, El Shanowi is believed to have received almost $9,000 to find anti terror attack on U.S. soil. The 30-year-old Maryland man reportedly took to social media pledging his allegiance to ISIS. He allegedly told childhood friend he was a soldier of the state.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: There are still so many active counter terrorism investigations that are happening. These are only three that were recently unsealed by federal prosecutors here in the U.S. You will find though, Fred that there is one similarity, at least one similarity among these cases. That is these three suspects were very active on social media or at least they were being monitored through their phone calls.
It is the ones who do not necessarily make any noise; the ones who aren't on the grid that worries authorities. Just yesterday, President Obama reminded the nation they are the hardest to track.
WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much in New York.
SANDOVAL: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's go now to the investigation into the terror attack in San Bernardino, California where the governor has declared a state of emergency to help the community recover from the tragedy.
This week, the first criminal charges were filed in the attack. Enrique Marquez accused of supplying to the rifles used in the shooting. He is now is federal weapons violations, conspiring to commit terror and immigration fraud for an alleged sham marriage.
The 24-year-old He used to live next door to one of the San Bernardino shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook. And a Federal affidavit reveals a chilling plan from 2011 that was never carried out. One plot involved setting off pipe bombs and shooting drivers on a freeway during rush- hour.
Joining me right now is CNN counter terrorism analyst, Phil Mudd. All right. Phil -- good to see you. So does it concern you that these recent attacks and plans have involved soft targets like drivers in traffic? While it didn't happen, the notion, the idea of such a plan being hatched is pretty frightening. What do law enforcement officials do with this kind of information?
PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Well, there's a couple of things you have to think about these kinds of operations. The first as you suggest, you have to worry about the targeting here because back when we are facing al Qaeda after 9/11.
Typically, they are looking at complicated targets that might have had a bigger bang for the buck for al Qaeda but were much more difficult to execute. And so over time, you had an opportunity to break those plots, because they took years to put together.
In these cases, if you look at all these indictments over the past week or so and if you look at the California event, you are talking about people who have weapons that readily available and looking at targets it would take no time to surveil so I think if you air security service, you are hoping as we saw in these cases that these folks are up on some sort of social media identified by companies like Twitter, so that you can get at them before they decide to move Because once they decide to move, these targets are pretty easy to get to.
WHITFIELD: And the plan that would involve the highway during rush hour, wasn't carried out because apparently according to Enrique who was talking quite vociferously said that they were spooked.
Why, in your view, would he be so forthcoming? What does it say potentially about his real intentions -- whether he thought it was fun to be part of this plan but then never really meant to carry it out? Nonetheless, he is still being charged.
MUDD: I think there's a common theme you have seen over the past five or ten and that is look at the kind of person -- the psychology of the person who is recruited in these organizations. It is not somebody necessarily who is really well based in theology or in the religion. It's somebody who might not fit into society very well.
So they get brought into a bubble. In this case a closed circle of two people with this neighbor where outside influences don't penetrate.
Once that bubble is broken, the law enforcement moving in to prosecute him but initially to question him of the past ten days or two weeks. As soon as the bubble is broken, he starts to realize I can't believe what I got involved in. I can't believe what I was persuaded to do.
The reason a lot of people go down that path is initially that vulnerability, the fact that they aren't the best examples of kids or young men who are well integrated into society. I think you see that in the case of the California kid.
WHITFIELD: And Do you start thinking about whether the same kind of explanations of vulnerabilities may apply to the teen arrested in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania now?
Are you getting a little bit concerned about, you know, the profile of people who are expressing an interest or even willing to plot and then they are arrested of --
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: -- you start thinking about whether the same kind of explanations of vulnerabilities may apply to the teen arrested in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania now? Are you getting a little bit concerned about the profile of people who are expressing an interest or even willing to plot and then they are arrested or charged on conspiring to plot?
PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Let me adjust the picture I gave you a moment ago. I don't think all these cases fit that picture perfectly. As long as there is an Islamic State in Syria, as long as there is not a cease-fire which Secretary of State Kerry is trying to pull together just in recent weeks.
ISIS will be able to spread out propaganda that not only looks at vulnerable people, but it is so sophisticated that it starts to identify individual vulnerabilities. They are not recruiting a young person into a terror group.
They are saying, why don't you feel welcome in your school and your society? There is a place where you can be welcome. We are seeing not just kids who aren't well adjusted but kids that are 15 or 16 or 19 that start talking on Twitter with a person that seems to have their best interest. That's the vulnerability I worry about.
WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Mudd, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it. We'll have much more straight ahead after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, it is now the first poll taken since the CNN Republican debate. The first measurement of which candidate might have gained the most from that event.
In the poll from Fox News, Trump is still the big frontrunner, getting 39 percent support. Ted Cruz is second with 18 percent, Marco Rubio, 11 percent, Ben Carson, 9 percent. Everyone else is 3 percent or less.
The survey largely sinks with other national surveys taken before the debate, showing Trump with a large double-digit lead over Cruz and the rest of the field lagging behind.
[11:35:07]The Republican candidates are out in force today to make up for some of those deficits stumping from New Hampshire to Iowa and some key southern states.
Donald Trump, he will be in Iowa today. He is holding a rally in Cedar Rapids. Jeb Bush hit the trail in New Hampshire where he had some harsh words for Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is a jerk. You cannot insult your way to the presidency. You can't disparage women, Hispanics, disabled people. Who is he kidding?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ben Carson, he is in Iowa courting Christian voters and taking jabs at the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've allowed the media and pundits to define who we are rather than allowing our Judeo Christian values to define who we are
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, Ted Cruz has just wrapped up a rally outside of Savannah, Georgia, and he's also playing up his popularity with Christian conservatives. He highlighted how his father came from Cuba and ended up as a pastor in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My father fled Batista, came here. He was 18 years old, couldn't speak a word of English, had nothing, had $100 sewn into his underwear. I don't advise carrying money in your underwear. Today, my dad is a pastor. He travels the country preaching the gospel. My whole life, my dad has been my hero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Today, Cruz didn't take any jabs at GOP rival, Marco Rubio. All week, the two have been feuding about their immigration positions and Rubio's Senate attendance record. Our Sunlen Serfaty has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The war of words between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz taking a sharp personal turn.
CRUZ: I oppose amnesty. Marco Rubio supports it.
SERFATY: The rivals are not only arguing over their roles in the 2013 immigration reform, but now openly beating each other accusing each other of lying to gain a political edge.
CRUZ: Senator Rubio unfortunately made the decision not to honor the promises he made to the men and women who elected them. I made a very different decision.
SERFATY: The Cruz campaign launching a new offensive in the battle debuting a TV ad connecting Rubio's work on the comprehensive immigration reform bill to voters' fears over national security.
CRUZ: Why I fought so hard to defeat President Obama and the Republican establishments getting an amnesty plan. Their misguided plan would have given Obama the authority to admit Syrian refugees including ISIS terrorists.
SERFATY: Cruz also challenging Rubio's assertion that he previously supported legalizing undocumented immigrants.
CRUZ: It is the most idiotic proposition. Their entire theory is based on an amendment that I introduced that said, those here illegally are permanently ineligible for citizenship.
SERFATY: Rubio hitting right back.
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.
SERFATY: The Cruz-Rubio duel taking center stage in the GOP presidential race even as another showdown picks up steam.
BUSH: You're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency --
SERFATY: Jeb Bush stepping up his attacks on frontrunner, Donald Trump.
BUSH: He would bring chaos to the presidency just as he's done to this campaign.
SERFATY: Trump welcoming praise from Vladimir Putin who called the billionaire bright and talented.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): At least he's a leader. You know, unlike what we have in this country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, he kills journalists that don't agree with him.
TRUMP: Well, I think our country does plenty of killing also --
SERFATY: Bush slamming Trump's decision to embrace the Russian president in an interview on CNN.
BUSH: To get praise from Vladimir Putin is not going to help Donald Trump. He's not a serious candidate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY: Donald Trump hitting right back tweeting out that he thinks Jeb Bush is, quote, "dumb as rocks." The frontrunner, though, this week has largely been able to stay above the fray as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz focus on each other and not on him --Fred.
WHITFIELD: Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much. Some serious fighting words out there. Other Republicans have called Vladimir Putin a bully and a thug but that hasn't stopped Donald Trump from saying he will get along with the Russian president.
Coming up, we'll talk about why Russia keeps coming into the 2016 race and the implications that these comments might have.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:43:02]
WHITFIELD: Although they have never met, GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged compliments this week. This all started after Putin's annual news conference where he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He is a brilliant and talented person without a doubt, but it is not our right to identify the virtues. It is the prerogative of the U.S. voters. He is the absolute leader in the presidential debate as we see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So it seems the feeling is mutual. Trump has repeatedly said he would have a better relationship with Putin than President Barack Obama does. Trump took it one step further on MSNBC saying he is, quote, "Honored by Putin's comments."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When people call you brilliant, it is always good, especially when the person heads up Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is also a person that kills journalists, political opponents and invades countries. Obviously, that would be a concern, would it not?
TRUMP: He is running his country. At least he is a leader unlike what we have in this country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, he kills journalists that don't agree with him.
TRUMP: Well, I think our country does plenty of killing also, Joe. I think that he is a strong leader, a powerful leader. He has represented his country. That's the way the country is being represented. He actually has popularity within his country. They respect him as a leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Mitt Romney reacted to that on Twitter yesterday saying, quote, "Important distinction, thug Putin kills journalists and opponents. Our presidents kill terrorists and enemy combatants," end quote. GOP rival, John Kasich, went so far as to buy the website, trumpputin2016.com. A fake political logo that reads, quote, "Make tyranny great again."
[11:45:07]Let's talk more with Cynthia Hooper now. She is a professor at the College of the Holy Cross. Cynthia, good to see you.
CYNTHIA HOOPER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS: Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: How do you assess this praise, I guess, from Putin? Do you think it is genuine? How seriously should that be taken and why does it even matter?
HOOPER: I think it is actually a fascinating, brilliant public relations move on the part of the kremlin. It reflects their increasingly sophisticated global media strategy. I don't think that Putin is completely in favor of Trump winning the presidential election.
This isn't sort of an issue so much about who Putin supports. He said before it is not the person. It is the country that we are going to have to deal with. This was very strategic. I think the planning of Putin's comments probably imitated a kremlin version of the west wing episode.
Where the emperors sit around and throw out phrases like, let the media do the spinning for you or let's get ahead of any negative media stories. He gives this three hour news conference with 1,390 journalists attending and at the very end, he slips in an innocuous endorsement of Donald Trump. He calls him colorful and talented.
WHITFIELD: A little endorsement. I think what you just said was pretty extraordinary. This is all about the kremlin and Vladimir Putin. It is being misconstrued. Do you see, being misconstrued by Donald Trump?
HOOPER: I don't think it is being misconstrued. It is a tactical story the kremlin is letting the western media pick up on, sitting back and watching it happen. There is a holiday weekend. There is this phrase, the Putin/Trump bromance.
They are talking about Putin and Trump like they are talking about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. They are not talking about Putin like at Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin, which is exactly how the American public was fairly or unfairly talking about him a year ago. So I think you have to give the communications people in the kremlin a raise.
WHITFIELD: Now what does this do for Vladimir Putin in Russia where you are essentially ordered to praise him, to value him? I wonder, does this raise the notch a little bit for him within the country?
HOOPER: The problem Putin is facing now is his economy is in trouble due to low oil prices and actually the EU just yesterday, the European Union voted to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months and notice how that news story has disappeared.
What this is doing is part and parcel of a line that the kremlin has been putting out with great consistency since October when Putin addressed the United Nations and said, it is time to remember that Russia led the battle against Hitler in 1945.
Now, it is time for Russia to be part of an international coalition to fight a new source of evil in the world, ISIS. They are taking every opportunity to present Russia as a willing partner with Europe and the United States. I think this is just part of that package.
WHITFIELD: Wow, despite what's taking place in Syria or Ukraine as it pertains to Russia.
HOOPER: Absolutely. Ukraine is turning into a bit of a nonstory, because it is a long, drawn-out conflict. I think Trump is very keenly aware of how important public relations are and image, symbolic politics are often month are than content in modern democracy, that is very TV based and into sexy sound bites.
And I think he very astutely understands that you rally an audience through emotion, feelings of fear, hatred and happiness. In doing this, it is better to have one enemy. So he focuses on ISIS.
Then, he is able to present himself as a pragmatist who can get along with a variety of other world leaders and he takes the opportunity to slam Obama and present himself. Putin is a guy that rides horses bear back and Obama wears mom jeans and I'm more like Putin.
WHITFIELD: You are giving is more information, making us big, broader thinkers and making me laugh.
HOOPER: I tell you, when Thomas Jefferson talked about democracy. He said, it all only works if the majority's will is going to be a reasonable will and not degenerate into mob rule. It is a message to all of us to educate ourselves.
WHITFIELD: Well, you have done that for us. Thank you so much, Cynthia Hooper. Good to see you. Appreciate it. We'll be right back.
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[11:53:23]
WHITFIELD: All right, the biggest thing, the biggest thing on earth right now is from a galaxy far, far away.
(VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Yes, we've all been on that trip and we want to be on it again. The "Force Awakens" is shattering the box office records, indeed, bringing in $57 billion in its preview opening night on Thursday and is estimated to bring in at least $225 million this opening weekend. That is insane! Joining me right now to discuss, CNN's senior media correspondent, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter. Let me guess, did you stand in line to go see the movie?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I actually have not yet. I wanted to be the only person who hasn't seen it yet.
WHITFIELD: Well, me, too. I have not been in the line, but I will see it.
STELTER: You know, in the reviews, it has a 95 percent positive review on the website, Rotten Tomatoes. That means pretty much every movie critic who saw it, loved it. And we're already seeing people going to see it for a second, third, and fourth time.
In fact, it's so big, Disney has had to come out and reassure people that there are still tickets available. One of my producers went to a 7:00 a.m. screening of the movie and there were some seats left.
The numbers just came in for Friday and it just keeps getting bigger. You mentioned $57 million on Thursday night. It made $120 million Thursday into Friday. That means it is well on track to become the highest grossing opening weekend ever in the U.S.
[11:55:07]WHITFIELD: That's incredible. So a 7:00 a.m. screening. I'm envisioning people bring Cinnabons and a coffee. Disney paid some pretty big bucks to acquire Lucas Films and the "Star Wars" franchise. I feel like this question is silly. Will they make their money back?
STELTER: They'll make their money back over time. Well, you think about it this way. They're going to make at least $1.5 billion, maybe $2 billion on this movie when you incorporate all the other countries where it's opening.
You know, it's opening in China and many other big movie markets, so it will make a lot of money that way. But it's also going to pay off, that sale price, through merchandise and through the other movies that are still in the works.
So it's going to take a while for them to recoup their entire investment, but analysts on Wall Street do believe they're going to eventually get there and it's been really important for Disney, because the company has had a little bit of trouble on its cable channel side so the movie studios are helping to take care of Disney.
You mentioned the $225 million figure. To put that in perspective, "Jurassic World," the record is "Jurassic World," six months ago, it made $208 million in just its opening weekend.
You can see "The Avengers," "Ironman," "Harry Potter," it's pretty clear at this point that Disney will definitely become the new number one with "Star Wars" on this list.
WHITFIELD: So exciting. Brian Stelter, thank you so much. It all takes us back. I start thinking about the first time I saw "Star Wars." I think I was in elementary school.
STELTER: And some reviewers say this is the best one since the original.
WHITFIELD: I can't wait. All right, thanks so much, Brian. Good to see you. So much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM after this.
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