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Hit-and-Run Suspect Said to Have Turned Life Around; Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Appears in Court; Polls: Cruz Gaining on Trump; Sandra Bland Family Unhappy with Proceedings. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 22, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] JOE MCFERRIN, CEO & PRESIDENT, PORTLAND OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER (voice-over): I think what we're looking at here is the long-term impacts of trauma. This young lady, I don't have all the details because we stopped working with her -- she left town some time after she received the award so we haven't been in contact with her since she left town. As you can imagine, without ongoing support and long-term support, many of our children that then transition into adulthood still have to address those issues.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It has been said, and again, it hasn't been an official diagnosis, but possibly some kind of psychotic break. You said that these are insurmountable odds. You're dealing with trying to overcome these kinds of obstacles, have you witnessed people who suffer these sorts of trauma as a child and go on to have an incident that somehow forces them to do things you would not expect them to do?

MCFERRIN: Yeah, we are in the business of working with high risk population. And I don't think that this is isolated to Portland, Oregon. I think there are tons and lots of kids and families that are dealing with the impacts of poverty and what tends to happen without the property support, in a lot of cases it's just love, support and access to a support care system that can help them deal with all the challenges that come with transitioning from being a child into an adult.

LEMON: Do you know -- because her family members are telling Ryan Young -- do we still have Ryan?

Her family members are telling Ryan Young that she was not homeless and that she had a place to stay and had family members.

That is correct, Ryan, right?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely. They said she had support. But she said maybe they didn't reach out as much as they should have before this incident, but she definitely had support from a loving family that cares for her, and especially worried about that young 3-year-old daughter that was in the car as well.

LEMON: So with that said, Mr. McFerrin, did you know any of her family members? Had you been in touch with them within the last three years? MCFERRIN: No, we haven't. I haven't specifically. I talked to

members of our staff and they haven't had contact with her members of her family in quite some time. I would agree that I would suspect even though I'm not totally aware, but I think it's not unreasonable to believe that she had support and a support system. But again, we're talking about the long-term impacts of trauma. And again, I don't -- we don't know exactly what happened. I don't want to speculate or get into exactly what happened. But there's been some comments about her potentially maybe just falling asleep, being tired, and then panicking as a result of what happened. So I don't want to speculate --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: We don't know. You're right. Police are still investigating as well. So we'll figure it out as the investigation continues.

I want to thank Ryan Young.

And also Joe McFerrin.

I appreciate both of you joining me this afternoon.

Up next, we're standing by outside Ted Cruz's rally in Nashville with new polls out today showing him closing in on Donald Trump. Could this be a breakout moment for Ted Cruz? We're going to discuss that.

Plus Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl appearing in a Ft. Bragg courtroom today to face charges of desertion and more. How much jail time could he be facing? That, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:29] LEMON: Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier held captive for five years by the Taliban before traded for five detainees, was arraigned today in a U.S. military court. The 29-year-old has been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He did not enter a plea nor say whether he would prefer to be tried by the jury or a military judge. The hearing lasted just 11 minutes. Bowe Bergdahl could face more than 10 years in prison. His next court date is January 12th.

CNN's Nick Valencia is on the case for us at fort brag. Also joining me is former federal prosecutor and former Army senior defense counsel, Anita Gorecki-Robbins.

Nick, to you first.

A very short hearing. Tell us what happened.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reporter: it was over just about as fast as it began, 10:00 p.m. sharp. 10 minutes before it started, Bowe Bergdahl entered the courtroom relatively inconspicuously. We didn't see any family or friends inside the courtroom. 50 people inside even split between military personnel and members of the media. Had he showed up wearing military dress. You could see a small scar on the back of his head. When walking in he had a slight limp on his right side the effects of his detainment with the Taliban for five years. Once things got underway the judge entered the courtroom and had procedural questions, a majority of which he answered, "Sir, yes, sir." He waived his plea and whether or not he wanted a trial by jury or judge. And then they have given him the offer to read the rights out in court or the charges out in court. He waived that. He is facing those two very serious charges, one, up to five years in prison. The other, misbehavior in front of an enemy, could be life in prison -- Don?

LEMON: Anita, why wait to enter a plea?

ANITA GORECKI-ROBBINS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR & FORMER ARMY SENIOR DEFENSE COUNSEL: It's very similar to federal court or most state courts. At this point he and his defense counsel don't have to make any decisions so they are going to take their time and see if a plea offer comes in between this date and the next court date.

LEMON: So not long ago, we heard a glimpse of what Bergdahl said he endured. You heard Nick say he was walking with a limp from his time there. And what may have been his motive for abandoning his post.

I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:40:00] SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL, U.S. ARMY: I was trying to prove to the world, to anybody that gets to know me that I was capable of being that person.

UNIDENTIFIED RADIO SHOW HOST: Like a super soldier, you mean?

BERGDAHL: Yeah, capable of being what I appeared to be by doing what I did was me saying I am like Jason Bourne.

UNIDENTIFIED RADIO SHOW HOST: Right, a character?

BERGDAHL: So I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All of that interesting, very well and good. But why this indecision on jury versus bench trial, which could fair better or worse and why?

GORECKI-ROBBINS: It's tough because the military juries these days I would guess, specifically those at fort brag, all of them deployed probably multiple times both to Afghanistan and Iraq so you're really having battle hardened commanders and NCOs, so I don't know if I was his defense counsel or versus a military judge could look at the case a little more dispassionately and lock at the elements and see if they match up. If I had to make a decision today, I might lean towards military judge. And the colonel who will be his military judge has a good reputation. He's done other high profile cases like the Kandahar massacre. So he's well known and a known commodity. He won't let either side get away with anything. So today, if I was a betting woman, I might go judge alone.

LEMON: All right.

Anita Gorecki-Robbins, and also Nick Valencia, thank you. Appreciate both of you.

Republican presidential candidate, Ted Cruz, is steadily gaining on front runner, Donald Trump. The polling is stark, surging eight points this month. I want you to look at his rise in September. He was stuck at 7 percent behind Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio. Not anymore, though. Holding on in his second rally of the day in Tennessee.

That's where our national correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty, is right now.

Sunlen, hello to you. At the Senator's rally earlier, as you can see, just took the stage behind you. So tell us about the crowd and take us to the event.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it's listen really interesting, especially in the aftermath of the last debate. His crowds here have really gotten a little more enthusiastic. Certainly larger. But I think the biggest thing we have been seeing from Ted Cruz, they are singing happy birthday. It is his 45th birthday today. He brought his father out on stage today. But we have seen a change in Ted Cruz in the last few weeks. He seems to feel that he has the wind at his back. The poll numbers are backing that up both in Iowa, but also the latest poll nationally. Ted Cruz recently predicted he thinks he's going to win Iowa. That was in an interview, something we normally don't hear from presidential candidates who like to down play expectations. It does seem that Ted Cruz is really emboldened by the recent standing and feels he needs to start drawing more policy distinctions, making a sharper contrast with opponents, especially Marco Rubio. Very clear this campaign feels he provides the greatest challenge at this point. That's what we're seeing out here on the campaign trail.

LEMON: He was asked about Trump's comments on Hillary Clinton, but he didn't pounce. Why is that?

SERFATY: That's right, this is with his pattern. He avoids taking on Donald Trump. Today was no exception. In Tennessee earlier this morning, what he thinks about Donald Trump's rhetoric, that critique on Hillary Clinton last night. Here's how he's responded earlier today.

LEMON: All right, we don't have that sound.

Let's listen in to Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Has anyone

noticed the Democratic debates they keep scheduling that like at 2:00 in the morning on Saturday and air them on PBS?

(LAUGHTER)

It's almost like they don't want anyone to know who is running. But there is good news. The good news is they have announced the venue of the next Democratic debate. They are holding it at Levin worth.

(LAUGHTER)

They wanted to make it easier for Hillary --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ted Cruz speaking in Nashville, Tennessee. The crowd there singing "Happy Birthday" to him just before we got to you.

Sunlen, let's talk about this strategy. Six weeks until Iowa caucuses. Why is had he in Tennessee right now?

[14:45:13] SERFATY: It's very interesting. This is certainly a signal of confidence coming from the Cruz campaign the fact that they aren't in any of the early states. They feel well positioned. They are very confident as his chances in Iowa feel. Good going forward. This has been part of the strategy. Do well in Iowa, do well in South Carolina and then really rely on the southern states. For the past week, he barnstormed the cities in the southern states. They will go in March. So it's all about math. The delegate rich states that they think play well to his candidacy.

LEMON: Sunlen, thank you very much. Appreciate that.

Next, a Texas jury has decided not to indict anyone in the case of Sandra Bland, the woman who died in police custody three days after she was arrested for failing to use a turn signal. Her family calling that decision flawed. We'll discuss that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A Texas grand jury decided not to indict anyone in the death of Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old African-American woman who was found dead in her jail cell. Just three days earlier, she had been pulled over for allegedly failing to use a turn signal. That traffic stop escalated into a confrontation and she was arrested. Officials say she hanged herself with a plastic bag in that cell. Her family doesn't believe it and is frustrated with the prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:50:11] GENEVA REED-VEAL, MOTHER OF SANDRA BLAND: I simply can't have faith in a system that's not inclusive of my family that we're supposed to be having the investigation to show us what's happening. We know what we have been listening to in the media. We have heard the rumors, but we don't have any real evidence. That's what's the hardest about this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Joey Jackson is CNN's legal analyst and joins me now.

Talk to us about the process. The family is very upset with the secrecy of this grand jury. Do they have a point?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The family is grieving and they are ailing and they are hurting. By no means should we be attacking the family at all.

But I want to point of the two things. In terms of the grand jury, by law those proceedings are secretive. There are reasons associated with that. You want to protect witnesses. You want to ensure that witnesses are not threatened, not intimidated. You want to ensure that any defendant who may potentially get indicted doesn't flee. There are a variety of reasons why the grand jury process itself is secretive on the law, and if you speak about that outside of the grand jury, you could be prosecuted.

Now part two of that, though, is there's a big concern about the lack of transparency to begin with. We can talk about that just for a moment. . I'd say this. The big attack here is on the process itself. Why is the local district attorney who's involved with the police day in and day out, why is that person in charge of something like this bye-bye does that give the confidence in the community that everything was explored? In the event I'm relying upon you, should I be? The one looking into what occurred.

In terms of the process, the final point is any grand jury, the prosecutor is the judge, jury and executioner. You run everything in the grand jury. Maybe we need to look at how that process is dealt with.

LEMON: I heard the attorney speak. He doesn't like the prosecutor being the judge in this. But will the family be allowed to get all the evidence in this case? And if so, when.

JACKSON: In terms of the grand jury, that's a secret proceeding. By law that will be sealed. We have to remember that there's a civil proceeding here. They are entitled to discovery. That discovery will let them know exactly what happened. What were the police reports, what was the audio? They will get everything but I think that process will play out civilly, not criminally in light of what this grand jury did.

LEMON: That's part of the segue to my next question. This part of the case was about the officials and employees at the jail. So does a grand jury decision close the book on possible charges against them? Is the officer out of the picture?

JACKSON: No, because what happens is the jailers were looked at and evaluated. A lot went wrong with their conduct, I think, from a civil perspective. Why weren't they checking on her? If they knew she was suicidal, why didn't they evaluate? Why wasn't someone sitting on her to ensure that everything was OK? Now that the grand jury has evaluated that, there's nothing criminal, so says the grand jury, about that.

LEMON: That's about her death in the jail. The officer part is not about the death.

JACKSON: The initial interaction. So what the grand jury will do in January is will evaluate the officer's conduct. What was that interaction like? There were issues with what he did in terms of policies, protocols and procedures that were not followed. That's why he's on administrative leave. The grand jury's job is going to determine whether he did anything of a criminal variety. If he did, he'll be held accountable.

LEMON: Looking the video, the interaction beginning to end, he is nothing to do with her death. That's off the table.

JACKSON: That's off the table. Correct. But obviously what he did was set everything --

LEMON: The wheels in motion.

JACKSON: Exactly, the wheels in motion for what came. But they will evaluate that interaction.

We know that protocols, again, in terms of that interaction were violated. But is it of the criminal variety? That's what the grand jury will be looking at.

LEMON: Much appreciated, Joey Jackson. Thank you.

JACKSON: Thank you, Don.

[14:54:23] LEMON: This just into CNN. New documents just released revealing personal details about the San Bernardino shooters and what they told immigration officials in their visa application. More on that, when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An unlikely hero is born after a woman made a wrong turn on her way home. Her inspiration to start a soccer team for refugee children blossomed into a foundation that gives hope and opportunity to the newest Americans I in this week's "Giving In Focus."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUMA MUFLEH, FOUNDER, FUGEES SOCCER: Hi, my name is Luma Mufleh, and I'm coach, founder and teacher at the Fugees Family.

Fugees Soccer started off by accident. I was taking a drive to Clarkson, Georgia, to visit a grocery store. I missed my turn. I saw these boys outside playing soccer and then I came back later in the week, but this time I was armed with a soccer ball.

I started off as a coach, coaching these kids. So after practice they would ask for help with their homework. I would help go from apartment to apartment and eventually started a tutoring program. When I realized something bigger than after school needed to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: She's like a mother to us. She's nice. Sometimes she's hard on us.

MUFLEH: Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: (INAUDIBLE)

MUFLEH: They have come from a foreign country. They have had no formal education. That's a statistic for a kid that will never complete high school. And these kids are going to complete high school.

(SHOUTING)

MUFLEH: I started the academy in 2007. I was a little overwhelmed. I'm like, how am I going to do this. I'm not a principal. I'm not an educator. But I am a coach. This is where I fit in. Teachers talk about the light in a kid's eye. And the most heartbreaking part is when that light is no longer there and I don't get to see that. I see the light on every single day and I love it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Just at the top of the hour.

And just into CNN, we have new and chilling insight into the love affair that would lead to the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Newly revealed immigration documents from the San Bernardino couple who left their baby at home, drove to a party and massacred people at a holiday party.

Let's go live to CNN's Kyung Lah.

Kyung, hello to you. You have been looking over these immigration documents. What are you finding as you're combing through them?

[15:00:00] KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are quite interesting because this is really our first public look at this 21-page visa application process for Tashfeen Malik. Now this entire process has come under fire. There has been a House committee looking into whether or not there has been any --