Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Ohio Officer Killed; Trump on Campaign Trail; Cruz on Campaign; Plunging Oil Prices Bring Gas Prices Down; Criminal Case Against Cosby in Jeopardy; Wild NFL Weekend Roundup. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired January 18, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:31:57] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: A police officer is shot and killed in Ohio overnight. Officer Tom Cottrell was shot a few feet away from the police department's building. And it happened right after police got a 911 call from a woman who said they were in danger because her ex-boyfriend was out to kill an officer. Jean Casarez is joining us now with more on this.

What a disturbing story, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Objectively, Pam, this is chilling. Absolutely chilling. Let's look at the timeline. 11:20 last night. That's when the Knox County Sheriff's Department in Ohio got a call, 911 emergency line, saying, my ex-boyfriend just left. He's got weapons on him. He says he wants to kill a police officer.

So dispatch tried to get the word out, but they say they were unsuccessful. Less than 30 minutes later, behind the municipal building, there was the lifeless body of Police Officer Thomas Cottrell. He was there. At the same point, they realized that his revolver had been taken and his patrol car had been taken.

Well, at 1:36 a.m., they were able effectuate an arrest and the person arrested was Herschel Ray Jones. He is now in custody. And that's what we know at this point.

Now, we know it's a very small town. I looked at the statistics from the police department. Last year, they had about 1,000 911 calls. The major reason for calling 911, disturbance. They had about 100 arrests last year. The number one reason, unruly juveniles. Not one homicide. And, Pam, Ohio, they have the death penalty.

BROWN: And I'm sure that town is shaken this morning. Jean Casarez, thank you.

Well, next hour, Donald Trump will make his 2016 pitch directly to evangelicals this morning. Take a look here. We're going to show you some live pictures from the campus of Liberty University in Virginia. That's a popular and critical stop for Republicans looking to boost their support among conservatives.

And Trump's appearance comes as his chief rival, Ted Cruz, launches a bus tour of New Hampshire. Right now he is speaking in a diner in the city of Keane (ph). His goal, to hit all 10 counties in the state by week's end.

All of this as a new CNN poll of polls shows Trump with a double digit national lead, while Ted Cruz edges out Trump by just two points in Iowa. Certainly neck and neck there. And CNN is covering all angles of this busy political landscape. Jim Acosta in Virginia with Donald Trump, while Sunlen Serfaty is in New Hampshire with the Ted Cruz campaign. So let's start with our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pam, good morning.

Yes, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, they are neck and neck in Iowa. You know, we're only two weeks away from the Iowa caucuses, so it's no surprise the two top Republicans in that state are going at each other. And Donald Trump is going after a key voting block that is supporting Ted Cruz at this point, and that is Christian conservatives. That is why you're seeing Donald Trump here at Liberty University. He'll be out here in about an hour from now trying to woo evangelical voters.

[09:35:00] And despite, you know, Donald Trump's attempt to go after Christian conservative voters, he and Ted Cruz have been in this battle royal of late, going at each other really tooth and nail on the Sunday talk shows and out on the campaign trail. Here's a bit of what Donald Trump had to say about Ted Cruz on the Sunday talk shows yesterday. He did not hold back. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, the truth is, he's a nasty guy. He was so nice to me. I mean I knew it. I was watching. I kept saying, come on, Ted, let's go kid. But he's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. He's a very -- he's got an edge that's not good. You can't make deals with people like that, and it's not a good thing. It's not a good thing for the country. Very nasty guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So, there you go, Donald Trump with the gloves off going after Ted Cruz. And here at Liberty University, he's going to be speaking to this crowd of evangelicals. You know, keep in mind, Liberty was founded by Christian conservatives. So they're going to be listening to Donald Trump's words very carefully. And if you look at the setting behind me, it almost looks like a Christian rock concert that's been set up for the billionaire tycoon. You can see on stage there's instruments. Presumably that will be played by somebody while he's up there, as well as a pulpit looking lectern. So Donald Trump will be delivering sort of a political sermon, you might say, here to this crowd. And I can tell you right now, Pam, just looking at this audience, it

is just about packed in here. This basketball arena for Liberty University is almost entirely full at this point. And this is not the only stop for Donald Trump as he appeals to Christian conservatives. This week he'll be at Oral Roberts University later on Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. So this is something that Donald Trump appears to be doing all week to go right after a key voting bloc, a key base of support for Ted Cruz, his arch rival right now in the Iowa caucuses.

Pam.

BROWN: Absolutely. And we're going to be bringing that event live on this show.

Sunlen, to you know, because you are with the Cruz campaign. And while the candidate is out on the stump, a super PAC that supports Cruz is releasing a new ad aiming squarely at Trump. What can you tell us about that?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, this is so remarkable because this is something that you just wouldn't see one week ago. The candidate, his super PAC and his campaign really want -- launching a well-coordinated, focused strategy, really honing right in on Donald Trump. This new ad that is going to be airing in early states stringing together all of these things that Donald Trump has said over the years about Ted Cruz, praising him over the years. Using his own words, in essence, against him. Here's a small bit of that ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Now one of the reasons that I like Ted Cruz so much is that he's not controversial.

But the truth is, he should be controversial because what he's doing is right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And Ted Cruz here today in New Hampshire launching into his bus tour. He's inside this diner right now. And he arrived just a few minutes ago. You can see his big campaign bus. He will go to, as you said, all 10 counties in New Hampshire over the next few days. But certainly this feud that will -- this dynamic that is playing out right now between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz is dictating a lot of the message, a lot of the rhetoric. The Cruz campaign doesn't seem to mind that. They think right now, Pam, is the state they need to be in to draw these distinctions with Donald Trump.

Pam.

BROWN: OK. And let's listen in right now as Ted Cruz speaks at this diner.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Destroy ISIS.

In the days that follow, we'll take on the EPA. And the CFPB. And the alphabet soup of federal agencies that descend like locusts on small businesses, killing jobs all across this country.

You know, a few years back, I was out in west Texas. And I asked folks there, I said, what's the difference between regulators and locusts? I said, well, the thing is, you can't use pesticides on the regulators. And this old west Texas farmer leaned back and said, wanna bet?

And in the days that follow, I will go to Congress and we will pass fundamental tax reform. We will pass a simple --

BROWN: See Ted Cruz speaking at a diner in New Hampshire. It's part of a tour. He's going to go to 10 counties in New Hampshire leading up to the Iowa caucuses in just a couple of weeks.

Sunlen Serfaty, Jim Acosta, thank you so much for your reporting.

And still to come right here in the NEWSROOM, we are joined by "Washington Post" executive editor Marty Barron (ph), one of the men who fought for journalist Jason Rezaian's freedom, for the 545 days he was behind bars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:24] BROWN: Well, the sanctions are lifted and Iran says, get ready for its oil to start flowing into the market. Well, that could push the rock bottom cost for a barrel even lower than the current price of $29. Cheaper oil, of course, means cheaper gas. And prices right now are already at $1.50 in some areas. So, of course, that's very good news for your wallet, but bad for small oil companies who might go bust.

Let's break it all down with CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

Christine, we saw this playing out on the market on Friday.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, and the big concern here is, yes, there will be some small oil producers that are going to go bust. Some already have, quite frankly. There's also, remember, the big banks, they finance expansion, they finance projects in the oil patch and they're watching as there's some distress in some of those loans. So watching very carefully to see if what's really good for your bill when you go fill up at the pump is very bad for the financial system. So far, though -- so far it looks as everything is going exactly as people thought. A crude oil crash, boom, just like that, that's what it looks like since January 2014. Really tough. And that means now with Iran coming on, Pamela, there are forecasts of $20 a barrel, $16 a barrel, even Standard Charter says $10 a barrel. If you got down to that worst case scenario of $10, that's when you start to get real concerned about what it's going to mean for anybody who's doing business with the oil market, not just oil.

For you it means lower gas prices. And this has been acting as pretty much a stimulus for consumers. Look at this, below $1.90 a gallon, right, for the first time now since the financial crisis. And look at where some of the lowest -- lowest prices for gas. [09:45:01] $1.60 in Oklahoma. $1.63 in Missouri. Alabama, $1.66. Also $1.67 in Arkansas. We've seen some -- we've seen sort of competition in some states where people are trying to be the lowest on the block to try to get customer traffic. But, quite frankly, I mean I'm hearing, one of my sources saying he thinks you can see closer to $1 a gallon if you see oil prices continue to decline, Pamela.

BROWN: Unbelievable. Christine Romans, thank you very much for that report.

And checking our top stories on this Monday. At least 29 people are now dead, including an American, in a series of attacks in Burkina Faso. Another 50 people are wounded. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility for the attack in the Western Africa. They stormed a luxury hotel and took more than 100 people hostage before security forces stormed in. Among the dead, a 9-year-old girl, and an American who went to the country to work in an orphanage.

A dramatic rescue in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. The Coast Guard reaching two people after their boat drifted into storms west of the Florida Keys. Their boat started taking on water after the sail was torn and the side was cracked. And as you can see right here, the Coast Guard helicopter came in and the crew pulled boaters to safety. Thank goodness.

SpaceX tries again to reuse a rocket and almost, almost makes it. But then it topples over and explodes. That landing pad is actually a barge floating in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX founder Elon Musk says ice build-up may have caused the explosion. When it works, reusing rockets could save millions of dollars and cut the cost of space travel. The rocket accomplished its main mission, putting a satellite into low orbit.

And watch this close call. Have you seen this? A crash, a Toyota Camry, slams into a service station in Australia, and narrowly misses the woman you saw walking in the store. Glass and bottles went flying. No one else in the store was hurt, but the three men in the car are being checked out at the hospital. No word yet on what caused them to smash that store front. But unbelievably, this woman right there, she was able to get up and walk away from the scene.

And still to come in the NEWSROOM, an e-mail threatens to derail the criminal case against Bill Cosby. Why the prosecution may have just lost a key piece of evidence. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:38] BROWN: Well, the criminal sexual assault case against Bill Cosby may be in jeopardy. CNN exclusively obtaining an e-mail detailing a verbal agreement a former prosecutor made with the comedian's lawyers more than a decade ago. That agreement -- to not use Cosby's 2005 civil deposition in criminal matters. But the deposition is now a key piece of evidence in reopening Andrea Constand's case.

With me to discuss is attorney and legal analyst, Areva Martin. First off, Areva, the agreement is described as a, quote, "verbal agreement". Will this stand?

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY & LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, Pam, I think the problem with this case is that you have this former district attorney making this agreement and inducing Bill Cosby to forgo his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, give testimony in the civil case, and now you try to use that testimony against him to prosecute him, and that's going to be a problem.

An agreement by a prosecutor should be enforceable even though someone new is sitting in that seat, and I think that's what this judge is going to have to decide. Is it fair, is it just, to allow that deposition to be used against Cosby? And can he get a fair trial if it is used?

BROWN: And that is the big question. I want to read a portion of the e-mail from the former D.A. to the current one. It says, "I can see no possibility that Cosby's deposition could be used in a state criminal case because I would have to testify as to what happened and the deposition would be subject to suppression. I cannot believe any state court judge would allow that deposition into evidence. Unless you can make out a case without that deposition and without anything the deposition led you to, I think Cosby would have an action against the county and maybe even against you personally."

So this begs the question -- this e-mail was sent three months before the new D.A. filed charges -- why would she still use it as a backbone to Constand's case?

MARTIN: That's the troubling part, Pamela, about this whole prosecution. We know that the current D.A. ran his whole campaign on the promise that he would prosecute Bill Cosby. We know that the former D.A. passed on this case. He said there wasn't enough evidence to get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.

We know that nothing really has changed. There were women available at the time that the former D.A. looked at this case who came forward who said that they had had similar encounters with Bill Cosby. So it's really troubling, and it looks like this D.A. is using his own political ambitions to go after Bill Cosby. And that's not what the criminal justice system should be about. D.A.s should not be pursuing their own political ambitions and playing with the freedom of any individual.

And despite what you think about Bill Cosby personally, this is bigger than Bill Cosby. This is really about integrity and transparency in the criminal justice system, and individuals and citizens being able to have confidence that if a public official makes a promise, that promise will be upheld.

BROWN: And just quickly, do you think this case against Cosby is strong enough without that deposition?

MARTIN: I think the case falls apart without that deposition. If you don't have Cosby's own words talking about getting prescription drugs and using it to induce women to have sex, I don't think the prosecutor has a very strong case. You don't have a current complaint made by Constand. She didn't go to the police. She didn't go to the hospital. You don't have any test of the drugs that were in her system. You have, all of this time, over a decade that has elapsed, so it's going to be very difficult for this prosecutor to make a case against Bill Cosby without using his own words. And to use his own words in that deposition will be fundamentally unfair given the promise of that former district attorney.

BROWN: Something a judge will have to decide. Areva Martin, thank you very much.

And still to come on this Monday morning, when a coin toss is not a coin flip and that's not the craziest part of this NFL playoff weekend. Coy Wire will explain. That's next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:00] BROWN: Let's talk about sports now. It is a match made for television heaven. Does that even work? Peyton Manning, Tom Brady both going to the AFC championship game once again, with the winner going to Super Bowl 50.

Coy Wire joins me now. What a wild weekend of football, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Pam. And, yes, a match made for football heaven, no doubt about it.

This weekend had a lot of crazy action. The Patriots and Cardinals punched their tickets to the conference championship games on Saturday, and then the Panthers and Broncos did so yesterday. Peyton Manning was back from a foot injury, getting the start for the Broncos, but just like all season this was about the Bronco's defense. Fourth quarter, Steelers up one, Bradley Roby knocks the ball loose from Fitz Toussaint. Broncos recover and then Manning wastes no time. Third and long, he finds Bennie Fowler for the huge gain. This would set up the go-ahead touchdown by C.J. Anderson. He'd punch it in just from a couple yards out there. That's the 55th game-winning drive of Peyton Manning's career. Broncos win 23-16.

That, Pam, sets up Brady versus Manning, Round 17. That's next Sunday in the AFC title game. Brady has dominated their match-ups. He's won 11 of the 16 times that they've played, but they're 2-2 in playoff action, and Peyton has gotten the best of Brady in the last two. We'll see how it turns out.

Now, the Panthers, they came out fired up against the Seahawks to earn their spot in the NFC championship game. The offensive scored in less than three minutes, and then the Seahawks' possession on the first drive, he gets picked off by Luke Kuechly, takes it to the house for a touchdown. Russell Wilson not happy about that. The Panthers would score 31 points in the first half. Just dominant. But the Seahawks kept fighting. They came out in the second half, scored 24 straight points, put them within one score. Had a chance for this onside kick, but Thomas Davis comes up with it. Panthers win, 31-24.

And we have to show you the wackiness that was from the Packers/Cardinals game Saturday. [10:00:02] Fourth quarter, time running out on the clock. Aaron

Rodgers has no choice, throws the Hail Mary deep into end zone, Jeff Janis with the amazing catch. That would send it into overtime. And that's where the coin toss -- it gets a little crazy. Ref throws it in the air but the coin never flips. I've never seen this before. Watch it again.

The Cards can't believe it. They talk about it. The Cards would eventually get the ball in overtime. Larry Fitzgerald scores for the game-winner there. The Cardinals now romping their way into Charlotte against the Panthers in the late game next Sunday for the NFC title game. That is your quick highlights for NFL action. Pam?

BROWN: All right, great round-up there. Coy Wire, appreciate it.

And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.