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Sean Penn's Meeting with El Chapo Inadvertently Helped In His Capture. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 10, 2016 - 16:00   ET

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


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[16:00:05] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: there are a lot of people here who support the proposed plan of action but others called on the site to be shut down for good. They also accuse the gas company and state regulatory agencies of dragging their feet to address the problem.

MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH, L.A. COUNTY SUPERVISOR: They've had their thanksgiving, they've had their hanukkah, they've had their Christmas, they've had their New Year's, they've had their family celebrations all disrupted because of irresponsible actions from state to the gas company.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That was Victor Blackwell reporting.

The next hour of "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.

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WHITFIELD: Hello again, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

There are stunning new details in the capture of the world's most wanted man, El Chapo Guzman and new revelations of a secret meeting that may have led to the drug lord's arrest.

After years of planning, actor Sean Penn secured a confidential meeting with the drug kingpin at an undisclosed location in Mexico, to write a feature length article for "Rolling Stone" magazine. This all happened last October. "Rolling Stone" also obtained a two-minute video believed to be Guzman's first recorded interview in decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: The U.S. government thinks that the Mexican government does not want to arrest you.

What they want to do is kill you. What do you think?

JOAQUIN GUZMAN, EL CHAPO: No, I think if they find they'll arrest me, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Penn's meeting was made possible by a mutual connection, Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo. Now Mexican authorities want to question both actors. It's unclear if there will be any legal fallout for their meeting with a known fugitive. In Penn's piece for "Rolling Stone," he writes in part, "I take no pride in keeping secrets that may be perceived as protecting criminals. As an American citizen, I'm drawn to explore what may be inconsistent with the betrayals our government and media brand upon their declared enemies."

Let's go to Mexico now and CNN's Nick Valencia who is live on the story. Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka. This interview published about a day and a half after the capture of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. And in this interview we hear from the drug kingpin in his own words, speaking candidly about his life and his role in the drug trafficking world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUZMAN: I want to make clear that this interview is for the esclusive use of Miss Kate Del Castillo and Mr. Sean Penn.

VALENCIA (voice-over): For the first time we hear from the drug kingpin, himself.

Despite being on the run, the drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman agrees to an interview with actor and activist, Sean Penn. A cinematic plot twist to an already surreal story.

GUZMAN: Look, all I do is defend myself. Nothing more. But I do start looking for trouble? Never.

VALENCIA: In a report for "Rolling Stone," Penn writes, the pair met face-to-face in October 2015, three months after El Chapo's brazen prison escape. According to Penn the meeting happened somewhere in the middle of a Mexican jungle and included tequila and tacos.

His irrational fear of being watched by armed drones and being surprised by El Chapo's quote chivalry. These clips are part of replies to follow up questions from Penn, sent to a Guzman representative, who asked the questions off camera.

GUZMAN: Well, fro mthe age of 15 and on, where I'm from, I was raised on a rach called La Tuna. In that area, and up until today, there are no job opportunities.

VALENCIA: The meeting, Penn says, was brokered by Mexican actress, Kate Del Castillo. It was 2012 when Del Castillo reportedly developed a friendship with El Chapo, after posting a series of tweets, critical of the Mexican government, while celebrating the notorious drug trafficker.

Del Castillo has not commented since publication of the "Rolling Stone" article Saturday night. CNN has reached out to her. (on camera): Their communication continued over the course of the next three years, even after the 2014 arrest of El Chapo, that landed him here at the (INAUDIBLE) Penitentiary. They stayed in touch via Blackberry messages and letters.

It was that relationship between Del Castillo and El Chapo that eventually led to the meeting between Sean Penn and the notorious drug lord. It was a month of back door dealings that included encrypted messages, disposable phones and even clandestine communications with El Chapo's associates.

In a two-minute clip posted at the "Rolling Stone's" website, El Chapo talks candidly about drug trafficking, violence, and his role in it all.

[16:05:00]

GUZMAN: Well, it's a reality, that drugs destroy. Unfortunately, as I said, where I grew up there as no other way and there still isn't a way to survive. No other way to work in our economy to be able to make a living.

VALENCIA (voice-over): A senior Mexican law enforcement official tells CNN they want to question both Del Castillo and Penn, specifically, about the location where the meeting took place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: We're now getting contradictory information from the Mexican government as to whether or not they knew about this meeting between El Chapo and Sean Penn.

Senior law enforcement official in Mexico tells me that the Mexican government had no idea about this meeting until it was published on "Rolling Stone."

However, another source tells CNN that the Mexican government was well aware that this meeting was happening. It does, however, beg the question, Fred, why it took them an additional three months to pinpoint the location of El Chapo. Fred.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder what people there are saying about that if indeed the Mexican authorities did know and didn't follow up right away, was that a security issue potentially to make sure that Sean Penn and others may have gotten out of country on time and what would have been the psychology to sitting 0en that information not acting on it?

VALENCIA: You know, we wish we could have the answer for you. I'd like to know, as a matter of fact. One source telling us one thing, another source telling us something completely different. Whether or not it's the Mexican government trying to save face because this entire legacy of El Chapo has been completely embarrassing to the country here, and especially the presidency of Enrique Pena Nieto.

He touted the capture of him back in 2014 only to have his legacy stained by the escape in 2015 in July. Now, we saw a much different tone from him on Friday, celebrating this accomplishment, saying it was a mission accomplished.

Residents here especially in these rural areas - they have a lot more faith and trust in the cartels than they do their own government. You saw what the famous actress Kate Del Castillo said, the one that brokered that meeting between Penn and El Chapo, taking to twitter to say she had more faith and confidence in the drug trafficker than her own president. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you so much. Let's talk more about the Mexican actress, Kate Del Castillo. A key player in the secret meeting. She's best known for her dramatic performance as a leader of a drug cartel in a popular telenovela.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

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WHITFIELD: So she's also starred in some American productions.

I want to bring in CNN's Rafael Romo to take us back into the career of Del Castillo and her prominence.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIRO LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: And her role and link to El Chapo Guzman. Apparently, it all started in 2012, with a tweet in which she said that she trusted El Chapo Guzman more than the Mexican government and the tweet, as you can imagine, generated a lot of controversy. But apparently it also opened some secret doors into the underworld of Mexican drug cartels.

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ROMO (voice-over): This is the woman Sean Penn says served as link between him and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Kate Del Castillo has been famous in Mexico for a long time but Americans have only been introduced to the actress in recent years. She has appeared in films like last year's "No Good Deed," a thriller about a man who escapes from prison.

DEL CASTILLO: I tried to wait.

ROMO: The 43-year-old also played Mexican crime boss, Pilas Suaso (ph) on season five of the showtime series "Weeds" in 2009.

(on camera): After a very successful career as soap opera actress in Mexico, Del Castillo rose to fame with U.S. Hispanics, thanks to her role in the 2011 telemundo series "The Queen of the South." In the widely popular series, she plays a woman, who through a mix of tragic and fortunate events, becomes a drug queen, a thriller partially based on a true story.

(voice-over): She raised eyebrows in 2012 when she posted a tweet about El Chapo. "Today I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments that hide the truth from me even though it is painful," Del Castillo wrote.

She later reflected on an interview on CNN in Espagnole that more than a compliment to El Chapo, her message was a criticism to the Mexican political class.

DEL CASTILLO (through translator): Someone like that, at least, we know who he is, we know what he does, we know what his profession is. The others sometimes are worse criminals, and have numbed us, and hide everything from us.

ROMO: After El Chapo escaped last July, she told CNN in Espanol she was dumbfounded.

DEL CASTILLO (through translator): I feel very sorry about that because I always defend Mexico. First of all, I'm Mexican and I get angry when in the United States people say bad things about Mexico and I defend Mexico. But the moment comes when you can't defend that which is indefensible.

[16:10:10]

ROMO: In her roles in film or TV, she's been at odds with the law multiple times. Now, after helping Sean Penn get an interview with El Chapo, she may be in trouble for real. Mexican authorities told CNN they want to question her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: And Kate Del Castillo also published a very controversial letter to El Chapo where she asked him some provocative questions. Listen to this, she says, Mr. Chapo, wouldn't it be cool if you started trafficking in goodness, she says in the letter. Listen to this, Fred, later she writes, let's traffic with love, you know how.

WHITFIELD: And that's loose interpretation, right? Because I guess at first, even when I first heard it, I thought, that sounds rather flirtatious. But knowing that she's an activist also, perhaps this was just another way of her saying, you tell me if this is right or wrong here, instead of something so violent such as drug trafficking why can't you find some other line of work? It's not really it was meant she's flirting with him.

ROMO: Exactly right. What she explained in that CNN Espagnole interview was that her real message was more a criticism of Mexican political class and the message to El Chapo himself was, you are very smart man. You're a businessman. Why don't you, instead of trafficking with cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, start trafficking with something that will create some good for society.

So, her point is, I'm not glorifying El Chapo, I'm just saying, let's do things in a different way and, oh, by the way, let's change the entire political system in Mexico.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating stuff. Thank you so much. ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it, Rafael.

All right. An anonymous Mexican federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the meeting between Sean Penn and El Chapo Guzman took place in Tamasula, a community in Durango state that neighbors (INAUDIBLE), home of Guzman's drug cartel. Penn, Del Castillo, and two handlers self-financed a chartered flight from Los Angeles to this undisclosed location.

A then aconvoy of improvised armored SUVs picks them up. Penn's driver was El Chapo's son, at times accelerating, we hear, to speeds over 100 miles per hour, and then they're taken to a dirt airfield about an hour and a half away.

Two single engine prop planes fly them to a mountainous region two hours away. Two SUVs then drive seven hours through dense jungle to El Chapo's compound.

And if true, this location is about 11 miles from Los Mochi where El Chapo was captured on Friday. Pretty amazing route.

All right. Still to come, what kind of legal trouble is Sean Penn possibly facing after this clandestine meeting and how investigators tracked El Chapo down.

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[16:15:45]

WHITFIELD: All right. More on our top story.

Mexican authorities now want to question Sean Penn and Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo after the two met with drug king, El Chapo Guzman. Penn only now revealing that the secret meeting and interview in October took place at an undisclosed location in Mexico.

This is believed to be Guzman's first interview right here in decades. An anonymous Mexican law enforcement official saying this meeting, and other leads helped authorities capture him on Friday.

Let's discuss this now.

Joining me now, former ATF executive Matthew Horace, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson, and CNN's senior media correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources" Brian Stelter. All right. Good to see all of you.

OK. So Joey, you first, it's not illegal for anyone to go to Mexico, but in what way might officials now examine the circumstances that surrounded Sean Penn and how could that potentially lead to charges?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good afternoon, fredricka. I think, taking a step back, though, looking at it, you're looking at essentially a meeting that Sean Penn had with an international drug lord, if you will, a person who certainly IS a fugitive and who's wanted.

The legal questions turn on whether or not he harbored a fugitive in any way, did he obstruct justice in any way, did he hinder prosecution or apprehension. And so without more and simply meeting the legal response becomes, no, from what I know now, he had a meeting with a fugitive and while that may seem to be, you know, extraordinarily distasteful to many and potentially morally, I don't know, irresponsible for those people, you know, who believe that, the fact is, to what extent did he provide any material support or any material assistance.

And the further question for the authorities, when they do speak with him is, will he speak to them? Certainly it's a crime if you misrepresent something to a federal authority. But he certainly could exercise his right not to speak at all. So you can look for Sean Penn, the authorities can find Sean Penn, but does he have to cooperate? He has a right against self-incrimination and he has all the constitutional rights certainly that, you know, an American would have.

So, in light of that without knowing more, Fredricka, I don't see the criminality involved.

WHITFIELD: So Matthew, you've heard on CNN here there are conflicting reports about whether Mexican authorities knew about where El Chapo was. Before this "Rolling Stone" magazine went to print, so do you see conceivably that authorities would be able to track El Chapo and sit on it for months before going in to capture him. To what advantage would they do that?

MATTHEW HORACE, FORMER ATF EXECUTIVE: Well, if there were a tactical advantage that placed people's lives at risks, perhaps. But he is known as one of the most violent and dangerous criminals in the world, being wanted just adds to that pie. I still think that there's going to be a slew of people that by their very behavior was sort of implicit in some sort of criminality because, let's face it, that plan, as you described, required careful planning, execution, and at the end of the day, there were any number of people from Sean Penn's camp communicating with known dangerous and violent criminals.

WHITFIELD: You see a lot of potential, you know, involvement but do you think Mexico would even pursue those other people? I mean, they've got the big fish now.

HORACE: Right. Well, I think you have to go back now, I think the U.S. and Mexico should go back with the authorities we have and sort of look at those communications between Sean Penn's camp and El Chapo's people.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then Brian, let's talk about how this, a, very unusual meeting then leads to a very unusual publication in "Rolling Stone" and so many questions about how involved "Rolling Stone" may have been to help facilitate this meeting, to help provide financing, we know that Sean Penn, you know, reportedly financed the journey himself. But to what degree might "Rolling Stone" be at question about its involvement and the allowance of this to go to print? BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, people like me are asking those questions, and "Rolling Stone" is flatly refusing to comment on the ethical and legal questions here. I've asked have you been contacted by investigators, they're not saying. But can you imagine the phone call, Jann Wenner, the famous publisher of "Rolling Stone" got. This guy has been in the business for decades, he's a music legend, publishing legend, Sean Penn calls up and says "Jann I've got El Chapo. He's willing to meet me, he's willing be to be interviewed."

[16:20:15]

I mean, it's like a breathtaking kind of conversation. In fact, "Rolling Stone" said, bring back a picture. We want to see you photographed with him in order to make sure this is legit. Once he actually did the meeting, then there's a whole other set of questions. They gave El Chapo the right to read the story ahead of time and approve it. Now "Rolling Stone" says there were no edit requested, no changes requested but that's an exceedingly unusual choice by a news outlet, usually would not happen at CNN or "The Washington Post" or "Wall Street Journal" but "Rolling Stone" is music magazine, a different kind of publication, and they decided it was worth it in this case.

WHITFIELD: And so, Joey, what are the legal ramifications for this publication "Rolling Stone," meaning what stage did they know, did they help even encourage this meeting? They, too, keeping silent, does that put them in a bind as well, legally, potentially?

JACKSON: Again, Fredricka, without more, I just don't see it. I know it's an extraordinary event to have Sean Penn and his people go and it's an international fugitive, but ultimately, it's not a crime to speak to a fugitive. It's not a rcrime to take a picture with a fugitive. If you're talking about rendering material aid, support, something of that nature, it rises to a level that we could start talking about criminality.

But we know there's journalistic sort of artistry that Sean Penn engaged in. He goes, meets with him, as a result of that meeting, he gets certainly a lot of information out of El Chapo, which is good, as a result of this meeting, the authorities are able to capture El Chapo, which is good. So his people, Sean Penn's attorneys are going to say, what's the issue here? And you know, and that's ultimately what it's going to come to.

STELTER: We don't know if this actually helped authorities or not, right?

WHITFIELD: Right.

STELTER: They must have egg on their face today thinking that this actor was able to find this guy months before they were. I do think that's a question mark there.

WHITFIELD: All right. And really quickly, Matthew, there's a what's next, you might have the head of the big cartel but the business continues. What does law enforcement do now? Quick.

HORACE: Hopefully they'll be some mechanism where he can be extradited back to the United States and taken to a super max facility like Florence, Colorado or somewhere like that, where suspects only get an hour a day out of their cell blocks. I think that will be the answer. If they stays in Mexico we risk the same result as before.

STELTER: I think he gave this interview he knows he's not going to be free again and he wanted to be on the record about his life.

WHITFIELD: I wonder about that, too.

STELTER: But we don't know, you know, he may or may not be extradited. That's a discussion we can have for a long time.

WHITFIELD: Right.

JACKSON: A lot of political implications behind that, legal and procedural.

WHITFIELD: Got it. Joey Jackson, Brian Stelter, Matthew Horace, good to see all of you, gentlemen. Thanks so much. We'll be right back.

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[16:25:25]

WHITFIELD: Tight races in both political parties as we get closer to the crucial Iowa caucuses now just 21 days away. And we're covering two live events right now, Hillary Clinton is at this event in New Hampshire to pick up an endorsement from Planned Parenthood.

Donald Trump is holding a rally in Reno, Nevada right now, and he's there at the podium. All the while a new NBC News-"Wall Street Journal"-Marist poll showing Bernie Sanders nearly tied with Hillary Clinton in Iowa, 48 percent to 45 percent, among likely caucus goers. In New Hampshire, Sanders remains ahead of Clinton, 50 percent to 46 percent among likely primary voters.

And in the Republican race in Iowa, jut as tight between Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Twenty eight percent to Donald Trump's 24 percent.

All right. Let's bring in our national political reporter Maeve Reston. So, Mave what is he talking now and what is he talking about?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, he just started, again, these attacks on Ted Cruz, that we have been hearing in recent days questioning whether or not Ted Cruz is a natural born citizen, even though he was born to an American mother in Canada.

The crowd, some people shouting, in support of Donald Trump as you said. Others, you know, saying that this is really not a huge issue for them but a very big enthusiastic crowd here. Again, you hear Donald Trump right now talking about this citizenship issue that he's trying to raise as an issue particularly Iowa where Ted Cruz is surging in the polls.

WHITFIELD: And so, is his style or is it content of what he's saying? Is it changing at all? I mean you've been covering him for a very long time on the campaign trail, and he very seldom uses a script. He just kind of talks and talks and talks. I thought that he was going to be taking questions as we get closer to the caucus. Is he planning to do that today?

RESTON: He's not. As far as we know, thus far, he's really just talking to the crowd about his poll numbers, about some of his policies, drawing out contrasts with Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz. But right now, he's really trying to rally voters. He's told them many times to register as they leave because, of course, here in Nevada you have to be registered to caucus. I'm saying that's going to be incredibly important. He's really working on his ground game, trying to get people excited today.

WHITFIELD: All right. Maeve Reston, thank you so much, in Reno. Appreciate it.

All right. Coming up a journalist who has been following El Chapo's story for years explains why his meeting with Sean Penn is so bizarre.

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[16:30:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, Mexican authorities now want to question actor Sean Penn on the heels of the recapture of El Chapo Guzman. Penn revealed last October he secretly met with the drug kingpin after years of planning after Sean Penn secured a confidential interview with the cartel leader at an undisclosed location in Mexico. To write a feature length article for Rolling Stone Magazine, believed to be Guzman's first recorded interview in decades. Mexican law officials say the meeting and other leads helped authorities capture him Friday.

But another Mexican official tells CNN the government did not know about Penn's interview. Penn's meeting was made possibly by a mutual connection, Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo. The two chartered a plane to undisclosed location and the site was near the Durango state of Mexico, Tamazula. In Penn's piece for Rolling Stone, he details the circumstances of this secret meeting. Penn says El Chapo hugged him upon arrival, they ate catered Mexican food, drank tequila, and they talked for several hours. It's unclear if there will be any legal fallout for Penn's meeting with the known fugitive.

Let's talk more about this with Annabel Hernandez, she's been investigating El Chapo for 15 years, and is the author of the book on the Mexican drug wars, Narco Land, the Mexican drug lords and their godfathers. Annabel, good to see you, so help us understand -- you know, he was notorious. El Chapo was well-known and feared. Why would he want even more publicity?

ANNABEL HERNANDEZ, INVESTIGATED EL-CHAPO FOR 15 YEARS: Well, really -- what I understand after all of this is that for the first time, I think that the world can see who El Chapo Guzman is really. When I started to make this investigation in 2005, I really believed in this need created by the Mexican government and by the U.S. government about this very smart, intelligent, and complicated man. But when I started to really be deep inside the cartel, I realized El Chapo Guzman is just almost no one. He's a very simple man. He's almost illiterate.

He's not as smarter as the government wished to show. He's really a primitive man. He used to take a lot of drugs. He's very violent. And the only thing that explains how these men that have this meeting with Kate Del Castillo, the only thing that explains how this man can really run this huge business is just the corruption, the corruption not just in Mexico, the corruption in United States and ever where, where he's able to track his drugs.

WHITFIELD: So you're explaining he would want to rewrite his reputation? He was illiterate, he was a simple man, and then in that video, he describes himself as really having no other options but to traffic drugs and that there are no other jobs.

[16:35:01]

He even says look at the economy of Mexico. You don't have too many options. So he's also trying to win pity or some empathy from people?

HERNANDEZ: Well, at first it's important to really understand that he's a criminal. This man is involved in thousands of deaths in Mexico. This man is not an angel. This man is a very terrible criminal. So let's put in context that. Of course, in Mexico, as you know, as everyone knows, exists many people that really, really, really poor. More than 50 million of people is really poor, is all of the 50 million involved in organized crime? No, of course, always different options, this guy took their options.

And it's not the way to justify all of the crime, all of this corruption, all of this innocent people dead.

WHITFIELD: So, Annabel, what is the feeling about he is captured, you know, forget the whole meeting with Sean Penn, but he is captured, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the drug trafficking is going to stop. So is the feeling from people that he will still -- his cartel, will still continue even without his presence or direction?

HERNANDEZ: It's important to understand that the Sinaloa cartel is much more than El Chapo Guzman. It has two leaders, one, is El Chapo Guzman. The other one is a man who never has been in jail, never, even trafficking drugs by the case. He never was in jail. So the Sinaloa cartel has a very, very strong structure, so nothing will change. As you remember, El Chapo Guzman was arrested February of 2014.

WHITFIELD: Right.

HERNANDEZ: The Mexican government tried to show to the world that, ok, we got him, he's under control, and he will pay for all of his crimes. Nothing of this happened.

WHITFIELD: Right.

HERNANDEZ: Since he was arrested, I start investigate how his life inside this jail was. When I discovered is that he -- by the first day he was just housed in this jail. He has a lot of privilege. That's why he's able to escape. So nothing will change.

WHITFIELD: All right. Annabel Hernandez, very fascinating, thank you so much for your insight as well, appreciate it.

All right, an American woman has been killed in Italy, and Italian police are treating it as a homicide. We'll go live to Italy and find out more on who this woman is.

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[16:43:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I am Fredricka Whitfield. We're following a developing story out of Italy, where an American woman has been found murdered. Police there say they've officially opened a homicide investigation after Ashley Olson, an artist from Florida was found dead in her apartment in Florence and they vowed maximum attention to finding her killer. U.S. State Department has also confirmed her death. Police began the investigation after they discovered Olson with bruises and scratches around her neck.

Police say they questioned her boyfriend, also an artist but have no suspects so far. Friends described her as gentle and say she was well-known around Florence for walking her beagle. Joining me now, is Barbie Nadeau, the Rome Bureau Chief for the Daily Beast, so what more do we know about this investigation, Barbie?

BARBIE NADEAU, ROME BUREAU CHIEF FOR THE DAILY BEAST: Well, it is really a tragic story. This is a woman who moved to Italy two years ago to start her life over, as she said on her Facebook page, apparently after her marriage in Florida fell apart. She came to Italy, where her father was living and teaching at a university, an art university there to start her life over. She -- for all we can tell from her social networking sites and friends we've talked to had a very happy life there. She had a good group of supportive friends, she was well-known in the art community -- you know, she was well- known in her neighborhood of Florence, quite an affluent neighborhoods where artists and creative people live and gather.

And this homicide is very much a mystery. Police are very, very adamant, while they've talked to the boyfriend, several friends they do not have a suspect. The boyfriend was one who notified police that he hadn't been able to get a hold of her. They had a fight three days prior to Saturday where her body was found. He tried to call her. She didn't answer. Her phone was turned off. She was able to get the key to the apartment where she was renting by herself from the landlord who let him in and found the body. The police said they didn't see any sign of sexual violence.

She had scratches and bruises around her neck. It's really a -- looking at all of the information, talking to anyone who might know anything, recreate, last 24, 48 hours of her life.

WHITFIELD: Sad situation. All right, Barbie Nadeau thanks so much. Keep up posted.

All right, coming up, 21 days and counting until the Iowa caucus and the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is neck and neck. Next, our political panel weighs on what both sides need to do to pull ahead.

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[16:48:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, live pictures now, Donald Trump speaking in Nevada, doubling down again on the birther narrative of Ted Cruz. Listen to what he just said.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the problem. It's called uncertainty. It's called -- you just don't know. Now already a congress spins, it's going to happen. Does anybody know more about litigation than Trump, ok? I know a lot. I am like a PhD. In litigation, ok, what's going to happen is the other side will bring a suit. Now is he a natural born citizen? I don't know. Honestly, we don't know. Who the hell knows?

WHITFIELD: Ok, let's talk about this because new polls today showing Cruz edging past Trump in Iowa. Let's bring in CNN's Chris Frates, and Democratic columnist Ellis Henican and Brian Morgenstern who is Republican strategist. Ok, my goodness, Chris, Donald Trump is not letting this go. But that is his strategy, that's what he does, regardless of what the polling is saying. He knows that Ted Cruz is eking him out in Iowa, but for Donald Trump it's about repetition. Does it seem as though he's going to maintain this kind of strategy and hoping that at somehow it will influence, if not the Iowa caucus, then at least some of the polling?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, he's a salesman, right? What he's doing is hitting Cruz where it hurts. He's trying to say that maybe Cruz isn't eligible to run for President, maybe there are questions about him. He's trying to raise those questions because Cruz, as we saw in the numbers you showed, Fredricka, Cruz is ahead of Trump in Iowa. Cruz really needs to win Iowa. He doesn't win Iowa, he's down in New Hampshire, he needs Iowa, a win under his belt, and Trump's trying to prevent that. So what we're seeing is Trump continuing to attack Cruz. Cruz of course, taking a little bit different of attack, he's saying I am not attacking anybody, I am just trying to play my game and my game is strong among evangelicals, among church goers and among conservatives, and that group of people is really flocking towards Ted Cruz. Whereas Donald Trump, he's getting conservatives but getting more independent conservatives and he's getting conservatives who aren't necessarily churchgoers.

I think this battle for supremacy in Iowa between Cruz and Trump is only going to continue here. I wouldn't doubt if it gets nastier, particularly from Donald Trump's standpoint. As you say, he's a salesman. He wants to close the deal.

WHITFIELD: So Brian, talk about this tactic because Donald Trump is not letting it go, the whole birther issue. We've seen it before. He did it with Barack Obama and you know it hasn't been resolved. He's not resolving. He's saying, I don't know. He's asking the question and throwing it out, I don't know, but it comes across like a statement. Is it effective?

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Effective, maybe, and frankly, that is disgusting, silly, and stupid, because this is a non- issue. Ted Cruz is a natural born citizen. It's not a real issue, but he's so good at raising these questions and acting like they're unanswered so he can plant that uncertainty in voters' minds but its garbage. It's weird to see this working out this way. I just wonder if -- you know voters are going to wake up in the next couple of weeks and realize that you know he's full of it. He's arguing against himself. He says that when it comes to children of illegal immigrants, it only matters geographic location of their birth, not who their parents are.

Now he says Ted Cruz -- only matters where he was born, not that his mother was a citizen. He's arguing against himself. I don't know if that hypocrisy will hurt him or not.

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WHITFIELD: Ellis, it seems like we're saying the same things when he said, I don't know what it is, I don't know, how many Cubans are evangelical, I don't know. But he says it, and there's repetition. And as we look at the polling, he's not taking a big hit every time. I mean it seems, right now, we're seeing an incremental drop in his lead as it pertains to Iowa and Ted Cruz. But some where he finds and is seeing it's somewhat effective because this is his style and he's maintaining that.

ELLIS HENICAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The more same semi-sane people like Brian call it garbage, the more the conspiracy people think well, gee, its proof it must be true. All of the same people disavowing. Here's the great irony, right? We always think of Iowa as a place that's an evangelical state on the Republican side, you have to be -- you've got to be right with god in order to do well there. But Trump employs this truly diabolical strategy. You know what? It may well get him a few points and may tip the balance in Iowa. Who expected that?

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk to Democrats because I mean, it's all a guessing game there, too, apparently now, right, because you look at this recent polling out of Iowa and New Hampshire, and so much for a big lead now. The competition is tightening, particularly between Clinton and Sanders right there. So you know, Chris, the Hillary Clinton campaign, they must be sweating it, or at least feeling nervous, because you know things don't look so certain, talk about the word uncertainty now, huh?

FRATES: Well, that's right. But the Clinton campaign for the last week or so, has been trying to manage expectations, too, campaign manager saying, we always expect the race to tighten. Now we're seeing it tighten. They'll point out while their lead has tightened in Iowa, its Clinton, 48, to Sanders' 45, as we see Sanders ahead in New Hampshire 50-46. The Clinton people are quick to point out that that margin has shrunk for Sanders as well. Their point, it's tightening all across the landscape right now, as more and more voters tune in and start to lock down who they are going to support.

Clinton, however, is nervous and you're seeing them talk more about guns, feel like that is an area where Bernie Sanders is vulnerable. Senator from Vermont, a rural state, he's been friendlier to the gun industry than Senator Clinton has been. And so they're hitting him hard on some of his stances, saying that he's not the kind of Democrat that the Democratic base wants and hoping that that will build a bit of a fire wall for him.

WHITFIELD: Ellis, are you saying that you know even the dems are barring from Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton calling in, in an interview, even Bernie Sanders saying yeah, we can agree, you know, Bill Clinton's behavior not great. But it's kind of that low blow so to speak, like we've seen from Donald Trump.

HENICAN: Good point. Hillary can interrupt this conversation any moment with a phone call, I suppose. Clearly, clearly -- she wasn't expecting to be this tight, this late in the game. Don't hang too much here, she does have huge advantages across the country. And even early stumble, frankly, she has so much money and support out there. It's hard to see what this translates into.

WHITFIELD: Last word, Brian?

MORGANSTERN: I would be careful about Ellis because it's all about momentum. She goes through two losses right in the beginning that could hurt. Her husband lost Iowa and New Hampshire but he exceeded expectations and came in second in New Hampshire and that led to the comeback kid speech and positive momentum. This is a different situation. So I think they're rightfully a little worried.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brian Morgenstern, Ellis Henican, Chris Frates, thanks so much, gentlemen. Appreciate it.

MORGANSTERN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And of course, remember to watch President Obama's final state of the union address Tuesday here on CNN. Coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And the address starts at 9:00. We will be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories, reinforcements moving in to join the ranchers protesting in Oregon, yes, that's still going on. For ten days now, the protesters have been holed up in a building on an Oregon wildlife refuge, speaking out about the federal government's land use policies. Now a group calls themselves the Idaho Three Percenters has arrived bringing long guns. They plan to establish a buffer zone between law enforcement officers and protesters. And as the Mississippi river swells from record rainfall, hunters are

clearing camps in New Orleans preparing for intentional flooding, the city's about to open spillway gates to bring the river's water level down and avoid major flooding. They've opened the gates only 11 times in 85 years.

And a lot of people were hoping their $2 Power Ball tickets would turn into millions this weekend, sadly didn't happen. Since there was not a winner, again, the jackpot rolled over to $1.3 billion. Take a look at the mixed emotions some ticket buyers are expressing on social media.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your winning Power Ball number is lucky 13...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So nobody won the Power Ball.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really hard to win the Power Ball, honey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won $4. It's not that much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New jackpot $1.3 billion. I guarantee you this is it kindest three days in U.S. human history, boyfriends on their best behavior, girlfriends.

WHITFIELD: And a star is born. All right, the next Power Ball drawing is Wednesday, maybe then. All right, that's going to do it for me. Thanks so much for being with me this afternoon. I am Fredricka Whitfield, much more straight ahead with Poppy Harlow in the newsroom.

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