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Cruz Closes in Polls; Trump Attacks Clinton; Secret Service Theft; Iraqi Army Fights for Ramadi; Vegas Vehicular Violence. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 22, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Powerful words indeed. The news continues right now on CNN.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Mr. Blitzer. I'm Don Lemon, in for Brooke today.

Donald Trump lashing out like you have never heard before while Ted Cruz closing in on the frontrunner's long running lead. A new national poll taken after CNN's GOP debate, here's what it shows, Cruz is just four points behind Trump, within the margin of error. That's an eight- point jump for Cruz in just the last month.

Today in Tennessee, the Texas senator welcomed the possibility of a two-man race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did think it was interesting that Donald Trump said a couple of days ago that he thinks this race will come down to him and me. I think Donald may well be right. I think that it could easily end up being a two-man race between Donald Trump and me. And I think that presents a good choice to the American people. This process is a job interview.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: At a rally today, Cruz aimed his jabs not at his GOP rivals but his Democratic ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: We can't forget about Bernie Sanders. So now the Democratic field consists of a wild (INAUDIBLE) socialist with ideas that are dangerous for America and the world and Bernie Sanders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Our senior Washington correspondent is that gentleman right there in the - I don't know if it's fuchsia or purple, I'm (INAUDIBLE) that tie, Jeff Zeleny. He joins me now.

So, Jeff, was it because he got, you know, 18 million people to watch him at our debate? What is behind this? Is it his debate performance? JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. I think

that's a big part of it. A big audience was tuning in for what was largely a good night for Ted Cruz. But really what's behind these numbers is, he's consolidating a lot of conservative support. You've seen Ben Carson slip over the last month or six weeks or so. Ted Cruz is getting all of that support. Marco Rubio has slipped a little bit as well.

So the decision by Ted Cruz to go hard after Marco Rubio on immigration. We heard him mention it on stage last week in Las Vegas. You were there. I was there. He said amnesty. It takes Marco Rubio awhile to explain his immigration position. He supports overall comprehensive immigration reform. Ted Cruz says he does not, although there are some nuances. But Ted Cruz says Marco Rubio's for amnesty. Conservatives hate that. That is one of the reasons he's rising here.

He's also done a lot of ground work. He's been campaigning sort of under the radar for most of the year here. A lot of conservatives, a lot of faith activists and all that is coming into play right now at the end of the year.

LEMON: Yes, at the debate, when he was explaining immigration, it was a very touchy moment -

ZELENY: Right.

LEMON: Between him and Cruz on stage. So, here's the thing. Let's talk about Trump now and Clinton, because that tension, Jeff, is really getting worse. I want you to listen how Trump lashed out against her when he was in Michigan last night. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everything that's been involved in Hillary has been losses. You take a look. Even her race to Obama. She was going to beat Obama. I don't know who'd be worse. I don't know. How does it get worse? But she was going to beat - she was favored to win and she got shlonged (ph). She lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What's been the reaction to that, Jeff?

ZELENY: I think it's the first time we can safely say that that word has been used as a verb on the campaign trail, at least this year. But, look, the reaction is, his supporters loved it. In the room, anything that he says negative about Hillary Clinton, his supporters love. Now, of course, Democrats, and perhaps other women voters out there, maybe independents, don't love it quite as much.

Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Iowa this afternoon. I'm told by her aides she is not going to mention it. But that's not saying her campaign is being silent about it. Let's take a look at this from her communications director, Jennifer Palmieri. She sent out a tweet this morning sort of offering some guidance to supporters. She said, "we are not responding to Trump, but everyone who understands the humiliation, this degrading language inflicts on all women should #imwithher." So they're definitely trying to, you know, sort of rally the base, to rally their own supporters.

But, Don, I have to tell you, it is probably good for both of the respective bases whenever Trump takes on Clinton, his people love it. Whenever she sort of responds, her people love it. But we'll keep an ear out this afternoon to see if she responds indirectly. I don't think she will.

LEMON: Yes, and - but this is, you know, this is his ballpark, this sort of thing. So, we'll see. We'll see.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you. Appreciate it, sir.

ZELENY: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: You know, Donald Trump didn't just get vulgar. His talk literally went to the toilet when talking about Clinton in Michigan today. This is what he said about Clinton's late entrance to the stage during the last Democratic debate. She had gone to the bathroom, by the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know where she went. It's disgusting. I don't want to talk about it. No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it, it's disgusting. Let's not - we want to be very, very straight up, OK. But I thought that - wasn't that a weird deal? We're ready to start. They were looking. They gave her every benefit of the doubt because, you know, it's ABC and she practically owns ABC. She really does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:10] LEMON: All right, let's talk now to Ryan Williams, who was a spokesman for Mitt Romney and John Sununu when they were governors.

Ryan, hello to you.

You know, as a Republican Party member, how do you bring people - bring in the people in your party who are cheering and supporting Donald Trump even when he gets, you know, this sort of - uses this sort of low language or do you give - do you give up on them?

RYAN WILLIAMS, REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT: Well, there's no question that Donald Trump's comments are outrageous and offensive and that the majority of Republicans do not support them. He's consolidating a small sliver of the base that's giving him these numbers in these polls. But by and large Republicans do not support this. And if we nominate Donald Trump, we're going to lose. As Governor Bush has says - has said before, Donald Trump is a chaos candidate. He is unelectable in a general election. He's only capable of consolidating a small portion of our base.

LEMON: You were quoted in a "Washington Times," I'm looking for it, here it is, about Hillary and President Obama, talked about Trump, you said, "it is a calculated effort on the democrats' part to elevate Trump. They clearly want Trump to be the nominee because they think they can beat him easily." Do you have any proof of that? What makes you say that?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think what Jeff said earlier in the last segment's true, the confrontation between Trump and Clinton is beneficial for both parties. It helps Hillary Clinton rally her supporters to consolidate and get some attention from some of the liberal supporters that are supporting Sanders. It also allows Trump to rally his base. Any attack by a Democrat helps him, especially the president of the United States. So I think what they're doing is they're elevating him. They know that Trump would be an easy loss in the general election. They would love to see him become the Republican nominee. And anything they can do to help rally his supporters to turn out and vote in the primaries are going to help him.

LEMON: Ryan, why did you tell "The Hill" that if it comes down to a Cruz/Trump race, which at this point it looks like it might be that way, that Mitt Romney's going to step in?

WILLIAMS: Well, I said if it comes down to a race with Trump or Cruz or another candidate, he may step in. Governor Romney cares very deeply about the future of the Republican Party. He's been very critical of Donald Trump. He's been critical of Senator Cruz's efforts to shut down the government. He wants to see an electable conservative win this nomination who can beat Hillary Clinton in November. And I haven't talked to him about it, but I would not be surprised if Governor Romney would step up and do what he can to help the party elect someone who is the most electable conservative who can defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

LEMON: All right, so you're just saying that. You guys haven't talked to each other and said - he said, hey, I'm going to jump in?

WILLIAMS: I have not - no, I have not talked to him. But Governor Romney has done a lot to help conservative nominees get elected. He's endorsed in some of the Senate and governor primaries last cycle.

LEMON: What about the possibility that if Trump becomes the nominee, the GOP tries to get him to select a more establishment sort of candidate for his nominee for vice president. Who is that? How does that look to you?

WILLIAMS: Well, I don't think Donald Trump's going to be our nominee. I don't think we're ever going to get to that juncture. But I do think that what Donald Trump has said over the course of this campaign is destructive and would hurt him if he - if he did get the nomination. But I do not see that scenario ever happening. I think our party is going to come together and get behind the most electable conservative who can win in November. And I think we've got a lot of great candidates. Governor Bush is a great candidate and I think he'd be a good person to lead the party in November.

LEMON: So even if he starts winning these caucuses and the, you know, primary states, still, you think, ah, no Donald Trump? I mean the polls aren't showing that, Ryan. WILLIAMS: I have - I have faith that our voters are going to come

together and elect the best person in November.

LEMON: All right.

WILLIAMS: And I think that once the field winnows, I think you're going to see a shift in who - who people are supporting and you're going to see a consolidation behind a good candidate who can take on Trump and some of the other candidates.

LEMON: I was just told a little secret that I feel bad about the speeding ticket you just got. But we're glad you made it, Ryan Williams. Thank you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you. And Merry Christmas to you.

You know, I - we have news -

WILLIAMS: Merry Christmas.

LEMON: Yes.

We have news just in to CNN, it involves a Secret Service agent's gun, his radio, the handcuffs, a flash drive, they've all been stolen. They were apparently taken in broad daylight from the agent's personal vehicle while it was parked in downtown Washington, D.C.

So, Michelle Kosinski, traveling with the president in Honolulu. Michelle has the details for us on this.

Michelle, again with the Secret Service? What's going on here?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that's what everybody says, right, another one of these, shall we call them, unpleasantries for the service. And this was a presidential protective division agent. So these are the people who don't wear uniforms. They generally see in downtown Washington around the monuments and the White House. They don't travel in marked cars. And he was using his personal vehicle. So his job is to protect the president, but apparently he had some trouble there protecting his personal gear, including his gun, his badge, a Secret Service radio, some handcuffs and a flash drive. These were all in his personal vehicle.

[14:09:58] And what make this even more remarkable is that this happened while he was parked right next to Secret Service headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. I mean this is a place where you constantly see the uniform division officers walking around. And the information that we've gotten from sources indicate that one of his windows on his vehicle, which wasn't described in detail, but one of the windows was unzipped. So that tells us it was likely a Jeep or something similar that has that kind of access to the vehicle, but he had all of this gear in a bag that was accessible when that window was unzipped. And the person, the suspect, just was able to grab that bag and take all of this out of there. That person has still not been caught.

Our sources also tell us that the main concern here is the gun.

LEMON: Absolutely.

KOSINSKI: The flash drive sounds pretty sensitive. I mean we don't know what kind of information was on that. But we are told that it was encrypted in some way and that whoever stole it would not be able to gain access to it. At least that's what our sources are telling us. But as of right now, neither the White House nor the Secret Service has officially commented on this theft in the middle of the day right next to Secret Service headquarters, Don.

LEMON: I've got to tell you, Michelle, even as a civilian, we are told don't leave valuables in your car. But when you work for the government, if you're a Secret Service and you're on White House protection -

KOSINSKI: Yes.

LEMON: To leave - to leave those sorts of things in your - you're supposed to secure those things, correct? That's part of the protocol.

KOSINSKI: Yes, and it - because the Secret Service isn't giving us any details, we don't know the specific circumstances of this incident. Did he just run into the building for a moment? Was he called away on something in a hurry? I mean we - we don't know. We don't know what rules were broken here. But what we do know is that that window was able to be unzipped, as I said -

LEMON: Yes.

KOSINSKI: And this bag could simply be grabbed out of that window of the car. So, obviously, a lot of questions surrounding this, Don.

LEMON: Michelle Kosinski in Hawaii, Honolulu as a matter of fact, thank you, traveling with the president who's on vacation there. Appreciate your reporting.

Happening right now, ISIS under siege and using civilians as human shields as counterterrorist forces launch a major offensive to retake the key city of Ramadi.

Also, she was once lauded for turning her troubled life around. New details about - emerging now about the history of a suspect charged with murder who police say intentionally drove her car into a crowd along the Las Vegas Strip.

And, she died in jail three days after she was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal. The family of Sandra Bland speaking out as a Texas jury decides not to indict anyone in the case. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:15:55] LEMON: Happening right now, a massive military push against ISIS in Iraq. Government forces there carrying out an operation to take the city center of Ramadi back from ISIS terrorists. Bombers from the U.S.-led coalition backing the operation with air power. Let's discuss, Barbara Starr, CNN's Pentagon correspondent. Also with me, CNN contributor Michael Weiss. He is the co-author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror."

Barbara, you first. What are you hearing about the Iraqi army's push right now and the role the U.S. is playing?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Don, at this hour, some very tough fighting ahead for Iraqi forces on the ground in Ramadi. They began this very surprising maneuver earlier today when they unfolded essentially a pontoon, a floating bridge, across a portion of the Euphrates River and began to make their daylight move into the center of Ramadi. They'd been fighting in the outer neighborhoods for some weeks, but now Iraqi forces moving right into the center of Ramadi, right into the heart of where they think there might be up to 500 ISIS fighters well dug in using human shields, civilians as human shields, IEDs, bombs, booby traps, all of it. It is going to be, by all accounts, very tough fighting for the Iraqis.

There's a couple of issues at hand. If they get the city center back, can they hold on to it. ISIS will be very tough to dig out of there on a permanent basis and you will recall seven months ago Iraqi forces basically ran from the fight when ISIS first moved into Ramadi in a very strong fashion with hundreds of fighters. There's been a lot of U.S. effort over the last seven months to get them trained up, to get them ready to make this move. But will they get Ramadi back? Will they be able to hold on to it?

LEMON: That's a good question and I'll ask that to Michael Weiss. Do you believe that the Iraqi army, the same army that lost Ramadi, can not just win it back, but as Barbara Starr said, can hold it at this time?

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean that's the real difficulty, Don. You know, the - on the plus side, the most elite Iraqi military division is called the golden division. It's their special forces. These guys have been through it all, including, by the way, being kidnapped by Shia militias. They're not just fighting ISIS, in some cases, they're fighting other pro-Iraqi government forces. Their moral does not seem to have flagged. I mean they're very gung ho about pushing in.

Now the reality difficulty too is, what is going to be left to hold on to? This is where ISIS gets it - becomes its most brutal. They have a certain kind of IED that they install into houses whereby anybody who steps on a trip wire or on a cord on the ground sets off a chain reaction, a series of explosions, that make the house collapse on top of them. So they could very well be looking to destroy as much infrastructure as possible. We've already - you've talked about human shields. Reuters, about a week or two ago, had a piece where it described Ramadi as a kind of geographical coffin. They are not letting civilians flee. They're not letting any kind of humanitarian corridors out because they know, the more civilian casualties, the more fatalities, the more the population will see the pro-government forces marching in, not as liberators but as sort of agents of death, accidentally so. So I - I'm - you know, we have to be very careful about sort of going rah-rah and declaring victory here. There's a long fight ahead.

LEMON: I want to discuss a little bit more in depth about what you said because - about the using of human shields, using civilians as human shields.

WEISS: Yes.

LEMON: They're known for laying traps and bombs as they are pushed out, as you have said. So it's quite a dangerous place, Ramadi is right now, for the troops and for the civilians.

WEISS: That's right. You know, one of the ways that ISIS tries to control a population is to say, look, it's either you cut a deal with us or things become much worse. You're going to be taken over by Shia militias. Now in this case, and I think Baghdad was quite wise and this came as the result of intense U.S. pressure, they've kept the so- called Hustalshavi (ph), the popular mobilization units of Iranian- backed militias on the outskirts of Ramadi, knowing very well that if these guys had marched into the center of the city, they would meet with resistance, not just by ISIS, but by some of the locals who do not want this very strategic, Sunni/Arab tribal city to be overtaken by what they see as pro-Iranian proxies or Shia militia forces. So it's mostly, as best we can tell, a more professionalized endeavor.

[14:20:14] Now, I would also hazard, and maybe Barbara can back me up on - with her reporting on this, U.S. special forces are very likely to be playing an on the ground role in this operation. Now, we don't know about that. It's not being publically disclosed. But I've been hearing rumors and comments coming out of Iraq about this for the last several weeks.

LEMON: Yes. Yes, that's going to have to be the last word. So we want to thank Barbara and Michael Weiss, thank you very much. Appreciate both of you, your perspectives on this.

WEISS: Su re.

LEMON: Up next, we are learning more about the woman who police say plowed into a crowded sidewalk on the Las Vegas Strip killing one person, wounding dozens of others. Her family now saying she was not homeless. She was not homeless.

Plus, new polls out today show Ted Cruz closing in on Donald Trump in the race for the White House. So why is he refusing to go on the attack? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have some new information about the woman accused of mowing down a crowd on the Las Vegas Strip killing one, injuring dozens. Twenty-four-year-old Lakeisha Holloway is her name. She's being held without bond. We're just getting word that a murder charge has officially been filed. More on that in a moment. But first, this charge all comes just three years after Holloway was publicly honored in Portland, Oregon, for turning her life around. She was even featured in a video produced by a Portland nonprofit that helps disadvantaged youth. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAKEISHA HOLLOWAY: My mom always tried to do what was best for my sister and I. As a single parent, with an eighth grade education, it was all a struggle for her. And later down the line, it became all too hard for her. She drank more and carried less.

[14:25:12] Today, I'm not the same scared girl I used to be. I'm a mature young woman who has broken many generational cycle that those before me hadn't. Being homeless and on my own taught me how to stand on my own two feet. Not only did I manage to beat working dead-end jobs that I had to see my mother struggle with, but I managed to land a federal job at 21. Now that is what I call living the grand life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So now investigators are trying to figure out what happened to Holloway, how she went from success story to a suspect in this deadly Vegas melee.

So let's talk about this with CNN's Ryan Young. He is in Las Vegas. And also in Portland is the CEO of that nonprofit that helped Holloway. His name is Joe McFerrin.

First to Ryan Young. Word just coming down about these charges, what are they?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do know she'll be charged with one charge of child neglect, one for leaving the scene and, of course, that charge with the use of a deadly weapon, which was that car. Honestly, everyone that we've talked to about this case, talks about the sounds they heard as that car came off the roadway, onto the sidewalk and kept hitting people over and over again. We talked to one doctor who said his wife saw people going in the air like bowling pins and he says it's something that he'll never forget.

Now, we talked to the family - a family spokesperson just early this morning, just about what's going on here and they said there were no signs that this trouble was happening with this young lady's life. They actually had a bone of contention with the sheriff calling her homeless, saying she had a home and she had loved ones who loved her and would care for her. They had no idea this was going to happen.

Of course, there's so many questions about what happens next. That three-year-old child that was in the car during this and the fact that she left that child alone to report what was going on. And she turned herself in. But so many people were knocking on that window, trying to get her to stop, hitting people over and over again. And we're told that one of the bodies flew in the air, hit that windshield, cracked it. So there was no way everyone felt that she did not know what was going on. A lot of questions about her mental state. Obviously that's something that we're not going to be able to answer just this quickly. We do know that she was not impaired with alcohol but there will be drug testing done and hopefully we'll learn more about those details soon, Don.

(INAUDIBLE)

LEMON: Three years - three - and the video was talking about her being homeless.

I want to ask Joe McFerrin about this.

Joe, thank you for joining us here on CNN. Tell us about the Lakeisha Holloway you knew and your reaction to what she's being accused of doing in Las Vegas.

JOE MCFERRIN, CEO, PORTLAND OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER: Yes, first of all, Don, on behalf of Portland OIC board, staff, and our community partners, I wanted to express our hearts go out to all that have been impacted by this tragic event. This is something that is very difficult for all of us.

With respect to Lakeisha, you know, she came to us back in 2011, 2010 as a part of one of our employment training programs. She was attending Madison High School here in Portland. We provided support for her. We helped her deal with some of the issues around being homeless, around her academic success. We were able to get her back on track and when ultimately help her to earn her high school diploma. She was put in our employment training programs and she was able to, like the video says, she was able to land a job with the U.S. Forestry Department. And we awarded her back in 2012 because she truly exemplified a young person who was dealing with multiple barriers, like many of our young people face across this country, and she was able to access the support and get on the path towards success.

LEMON: So, Mr. McFerrin, what happened then between - in those years where you said she was back on track and successful? What do you think happened?

MCFERRIN: Well, I think that, as has been broadcasted and in her own words in our video that we - it was a part of our celebration, you know, she talked about all the trauma that she had faced as a child. And so when we talk about her pulling it back together, I mean these were insurmountable odds in terms of being homeless, not having the kind of support systems at home that we want for all of our children. And to be able to, again, graduate from high school and then go on to college and work, I mean is a huge feat.

[14:29:59] But I think - I think what we're - what we're - what we're looking at here is, you know, the long-term impacts of trauma. I mean she - this young lady - I don't have all the details because we stopped working with her - she left --