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Michigan Governor Admits Disaster in Water Supply; Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Clash as Iowa Vote Nears; Sanders, Clinton Make Electability Pitches; New: Atty. General Lynch Uneasy with Iran Deal; "Affluenza" Teen Hearing Today in Texas; Trump, Cruz Battle for Evangelical Voters. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 19, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:01] PEREIRA: My friend's daughter went as Darth Vader for Halloween last year.

BERMAN: That was so great.

CAMEROTA: Great story. Thank you. All right. Time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

Hey, Carol.

PEREIRA: Hi, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much. Have a great day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Michigan's embattled governor says the Flint water crisis was nothing short of a disaster and even accepts the chilling assessment of critics. He is now confronting his own Hurricane Katrina. At least 100 protesters march outside of his home braving subzero windchills and calling for Governor Snyder to resign or even to face arrest.

It will be a busy and possibly pivotal day in the crisis. More protests are planned. More lawsuits due to be announced and new details on how to fix the staggering health threat.

CNN's Jean Casarez live in Flint with more you. Hi, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We're right in front of the Flint River which was the water that went into these people's homes that they say they drank, they cooked with, they bathed, they washed their clothes in and now state officials have admitted that lead was in that water.

It is going to be a packed day today. So much happening. First of all right here in Flint early afternoon we believe two more civil lawsuits will be filed, class actions, from those that are affected and say that their futures are in jeopardy and their property values have diminished because of that water.

Also the mayor of Flint is in Washington, D.C. at the National Mayors Conference. She's going try to get some attention from the White House. And lastly the day will end with a rally in front of the state capitol in Lansing. Different organizations are coming to protest the State of the Strait address by the governor later today.

We want to show everybody a little bit of an interview that the governor did recently with the "National Journal" that just shows his state of mind here. Governor Rick Snyder was asked the question, "Critics have called this your Katrina. Do you think that is unfair?"

Governor Rick Snyder responds, "No. It is a disaster. Trust is something that once you lose it, it is much harder to earn it back. So that's the point we are at." And the governor also says that once he found out what was happening, he took action.

And Carol, from the civil -- very interesting. They don't say in that as a defendant, the governor, they don't say that he knew what was happening but as the manager of the state he should have done something and known what was going on. They really point fingers at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality listing individual after individual, Carol, saying that they knew the water wasn't treated, knew they did not have a chemical in that so that the lead wouldn't come from the pipes into the water and then into the systems of everybody in this community.

COSTELLO: All right. Jean Casarez, reporting live from Flint, Michigan, this morning.

Counting down until Iowa caucus day and the campaign rhetoric is ramping up as Ted Cruz continues his major five-day push in New Hampshire. The Texas senator now incorporating his Trump attacks on the trail, framing the race as a choice between him and Donald Trump who he calls an entertainer who can't be trusted as commander-in- chief.

Here is what Cruz told NPR.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The most important judgment the voters are making is who is best prepared to be commander-in-chief. Who has the experience. Who has the knowledge. Who has the judgment and understanding, the clarity of vision. And the strength of resolve to keep this country safe. To identify our enemy, to defeat our enemy and to keep Americans safe.

And I think the American people want a steady hand at the helm. They want someone they know and trust. They don't want to wake up every day wondering if the latest polls might set off the commander-in-chief into a frenzy of tweets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This comes amid Trump's campaign blitz in Iowa. The Republican frontrunner is stomping in three cities today and promising a, quote, "big special announcement."

CNN Politics reporter Sara Murray is with Trump in Winters, Iowa, with the latest. Any word on what this big announcement might be?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're still waiting to hear exactly what this big announcement is. Of course we're expecting some kind of endorsement and there is plenty of speculation over who that could be, whether it might be Sarah Palin, whether it might be Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University. So far none of that has been confirmed.

So, you know, Trump has a way of keeping folks waiting and holding out big splashy moments like this. And look, we're starting in kind of a splashy venue to begin with today. We're here at the birthplace of John Wayne where Trump is going to kick off three stops.

Now to Ted Cruz that's pretty much nothing. He's used to being on a bus for storming Iowa and New Hampshire now. But for Donald Trump three stops in one day in Iowa is a pretty hefty schedule, Carol.

[09:05:05] And I think that's a reflection of where we are in this race right now. We're just two weeks out from the Iowa caucuses. And he and Ted Cruz are basically tied. And I also think that's why you're starting to see this sharper campaign rhetoric. Ted Cruz questioning Donald Trump's temperament while the Trump campaign tries to paint Ted Cruz as a flip-flopper saying he said one thing about immigration when he was in the Senate, now he's saying other things as he's running for president. And I expect that rhetoric is only going to ramp up further the closer the caucuses get.

COSTELLO: All right. Sara Murray reporting live from Iowa this morning.

Democratic frontrunners Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are also trying to close the deal with voters. Clinton made her pitch in Toledo, Iowa, last night. She's mentioned Sanders by name but touted her experience before a crowd of 300.

In Alabama, a very different scene for rival Bernie Sanders. In front of an estimated crowd of 7,000 people, Sanders walked on stage and opened with a page right out of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's playbook, talking about his poll numbers.

CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar is live in Birmingham, Alabama, with more.

Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol, good morning to you. Yes, this was one of those big Sanders events. Several thousand people. A lot of enthusiasm for him. People standing outside in what's uncharacteristically cold weather here in Alabama. But what Bernie Sanders is trying to do is really take aim at Hillary Clinton's southern firewall.

This is so key in these late February, early March southern contests that we are going to see. And the key to a Democrat's success in those is really the black vote, something that Bernie Sanders is trying to make improvements on. But Hillary Clinton in Iowa, really positioning herself as more electable than Bernie Sanders, as he was here talking about boldness and big change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have the front row seat as to what it takes to be in that cauldron.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're seeing folks coming out, beginning to stand up, and to demand that we have a government that represents all of the people not just a handful of billionaires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And a Bernie Sanders aide saying to me that Hillary Clinton's southern firewall is nonsense. But the Clinton campaign, Carol, still has a lot of confidence in their ground game especially in Iowa and in these southern states, in these contests beyond Iowa and New Hampshire. Of course that is going to be tested as we move very quickly now into these early contests.

COSTELLO: All right. Brianna Keilar reporting live from Alabama this morning.

Perhaps Bernie Sanders' rise boils down to authenticity. As the "Boston Globe" puts it this morning, Sanders is a crusty 74-year-old Vermonter. Hillary Clinton however is harder to pin down. She now touts herself as the experienced candidate who can beat Trump. But it wasn't so long ago Clinton was portraying herself as grandmother-in- chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: We haven't had a baby for all these years since Chelsea was one. And so learning how to not only kind of get the -- you know, the muscle memory going about everything from burping and swadling and changing diapers and now feeding.

And we've had a lot of grandfathers in the White House in years past. We've never had a grandmother. And I do think -- I'm not asking people to vote for me because I'm a woman or a grandmother, I think you should vote for me on the merits but I think one of my merits is I will bring these different experiences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So let's talk about this. CNN political commentator and political anchor of "New York One is here, Errol Louis. I'm also joined by Anna Galland, she's the executive director of MoveOn.org. She's also a Sanders surrogate.

Welcome to both of you.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

ANNA GALLAND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG CIVIC ACTION: Hi. Thank you.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Errol, why do you think Sanders is so appealing to especially millennial voters? Is it that crusty grandpa appeal that people had mentioned? He doesn't pretend to be anything other than who he is?

LOUIS: Well, you know, it's not the age of the speaker but the content of the speech that makes a difference. We've seen before with presidential candidates. I mean, we remember hope and change coming from Obama and he's kind of a young hip looking guy but a prior generation was electrified by Ronald Reagan. And he was no young man when he gave his famous speech, talking about a rendezvous with destiny. You know, sort of painting a picture of the future and inviting people to join him on a journey to that future.

That's what elections are about. You know, by contrast, to see Hillary, you know, a grandmother sitting in a rocking chair, you know, maybe not the best imagery if you want to try and appeal to millennials, and also she's talking about, you know, being practical. That it's nice to have great ideas but you've got to be practical, which is like taking somebody to a car dealership and saying, you can get a Mustang or you can get a minivan, same price, which do you think people are going to choose?

[09:10:09] COSTELLO: So, Anna, is Hillary Clinton -- you know, remember early in the campaign she appealed one-on-one with voters. She tried to bring out her softer side. She talked a lot about being a grandmother. But this time around people seem to want passion. Is that it?

GALLAND: You know, I think the broader story is that millennials or young people or whatever you want to call them, we have a more progressive generation of upcoming voters than we've had in years. Young people want a candidate, they want our government to do something strong, to take on the possibility of catastrophic climate change. They want real policies that can help take on, you know, historic inequality.

They want someone to help them deal with the loads of student loan debt that they're facing. They were hit hard by the economic recession. And they are certainly -- there is no space for them on the Republican side right now where the proposals are around, you know, how can we kick Muslims out of country and how can we cut taxes for rich people.

So I think the broader story here that you're seeing play out in the run-up to the Iowa and New Hampshire -- the first votes being cast in both places is that young people are progressive. There is a strong progressive movement in this country. And Bernie Sanders is doing a terrific job of speaking to that movement.

COSTELLO: Interesting. OK. I want to read to you something, Errol, that Dasha Burns wrote for CNN.com. She's a millennial. She says, quote, "Many millennials seem even more invigorated by a 74-year-old white man from Vermont calling for revolution. Just about everything that the Sanders campaign espouses hits home for the millennial generation. Even more so than Obama's run in 2008." She goes on to say, "It's no wonder millennials respond to Sanders' Uncle Sam-style finger pointing."

What do you make of that, Errol?

LOUIS: Well, it's an interesting image, comparing him to Uncle Sam. I mean, what I would compare him to is back when not too far from these studios, Carol, when "Occupy Wall Street" was going on. If you went down there you'd see a fair number of millennials but you also saw a lot of baby boomers. I mean, and that's, you know, sort of the Sanders generation, and they were reinterpreting or bringing forward their version of '60s liberal and radical politics.

And that's -- you know, there is a common language there. You know, so, the same generation that brought us Occupy Wall Street, the climate march, a lot of the climate activity, as well as Black Lives Matter, they see in Bernie Sanders a guy who is doing politics the way they do politics.

COSTELLO: On the other hand, Anna, doesn't Hillary Clinton have a point when she brings up the issue of practicality because many of Bernie Sanders' ideas will mean enormous increases in taxes for some Americans, I should say.

GALLAND: You know, I think my understanding of the -- there's been a whole debate about the healthcare plan which was rolled out, which really comes down to, you know, do you believe that our healthcare system as it currently stands is ideal? I don't think anyone does. I think the Affordable Care Act was an enormous achievement and we can do even better if we build on it and keep looking for ways to make it, you know, even more affordable and more accessible.

That was one piece of the broader practicality discussion we've been having in recent days. But I think the real question to me is what's practical for millions of Americans who are living with unprecedented loads of student loan debt? What's practical if you're looking towards, you know, living for another 60, 70, 80 years and thinking is the planet going to be here for me in the form that I understand and know it today.

(CROSSTALK)

GALLAND: You know, these are --

COSTELLO: Yes, but you still have to get these things through Congress which is controlled by Republicans.

GALLAND: Absolutely. And I think, you know, that's why you hear Bernie Sanders talking about a (INAUDIBLE) and political revolution. He believes that we need to engage more people in our democracy and change the math. Change the way that the game is played. I mean, I think the fact that he's making this stirring call for fundamental transformative change really speaks to where many voters are at, and it's why he has such momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire and among MoveOn members and many others, because it feels like we're in a moment with many crises that we need to address right now.

It feels like a moment where we need to be making bold -- you know, bold plans and figuring out how we're going to achieve them on inequality, on the climate and much more.

COSTELLO: Errol, last word.

LOUIS: Well, this is the -- this is the beginning. I mean, I don't think anybody should ask for a level of practicality at this stage of the game. You know, these folks are saying, let's identify what we want and then we'll figure out what it's going to cost and how we're going to get there and that's the appeal that Bernie Sanders has for them.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Errol Louis, Anna Galland, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, just as -- just as we're getting new images of those Americans freed from an Iranian prison, new and disturbing information about what really went on behind the scenes in the swap.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:15] COSTELLO: We're getting new information about what went on behind the scenes in the Iran-U.S. prisoner swap.

It turns out that Attorney General Loretta Lynch was squeamish about the deal and its scope. Specifically, she was among the U.S. officials who wanted the guaranteed release of Robert Levinson, the FBI retiree and CIA contractor who vanished in Iran nearly nine years ago.

CNN justice reporter Evan Perez is working his sources. He joins us now with more.

Good morning.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning, Carol.

Well, you would expect the attorney general to be one of the people who was a little more squeamish about this deal. After all, the 21 Iranians who are being released under this swap represent years and years of work from Justice Department employees, including prosecutors and FBI agents, and she wanted to make sure, Carol, that if you are going to release these 21, that you get all of the Americans back, including Bob Levinson who is a former Justice Department employee, retired FBI agent.

And, you know, the Justice Department officials and FBI believe that the Iranians have a lot of information they have not yet turned over.

Robert Levinson's son believes the same. Here's what he had so day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL LEVINSON, SON OF MISSING AMERICAN: Now that everything else has been done, everybody has won. The nuclear deal happened. Iran got what they wanted. They had sanctions lifted. They had Iranians come home. The U.S. has gotten the Americans home.

And the only people who are suffering is my family at this point. My dad is over there. It's been almost nine years. He's suffering an unimaginable nightmare, and he was the only one of those Americans who was over there serving his country.

What does that say about how the U.S. government treats people who are over there abandoning even after they've been serving our country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ: It's important to note, Carol, that the U.S. government doesn't believe that Levinson is in Iran anymore.

[09:20:04] The last time the family got any proof of life was in 2010, 2011. They got videos and photos of him and he was pleading for help. The U.S. believes that he is somewhere else in Southeast Asia.

In the end, Attorney General Loretta Lynch agreed with this deal because it did release, helped release these five Americans who are now safely out of Iranian custody -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Evan Perez, reporting live from Washington this morning.

We also have new images of those Americans reuniting with their loved ones just a day after being freed by Iran. This is "Washington Post" journalist Jason Rezaian on the left and you can see he's all smiles. He's joined by his wife, mother and brother.

And in this photo, that's Amir Hekmati, second from the right. The former U.S. marine is with his two sisters and brother-in-law, along with the hometown congressman who helped secure his release. Both men and fellow prisoner Saeed Abedini are now undergoing health check ups at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany.

CNN senior international correspondent Frederick Pleitgen is there. He has more for us this morning.

Fred?

Obviously, Fred cannot hear us. He's talking to someone off camera in German. German, which is very impressive.

We'll get back to Fred when we can, with those Americans are recovering in that, in Landstuhl this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, you got to have faith and by that I mean the evangelical vote. So, are any of the Republican candidates really winning them over?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:06] COSTELLO: Mothers Against Drunk Driving have a new push in Texas. Fight affluenza. Activists demanding that Ethan Couch be moved out of juvenile court. A hearing is about to take place in Fort Worth where prosecutors are expected to certify the so called affluenza teenager as the adult.

Ed Lavandera is outside the courtroom with more for you.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, this hearing will take place behind closed doors. It is still being held in juvenile court. But the main figure in all of this isn't even in the country. Ethan Couch is still being held at the detention facility in Mexico. Remember, his mother came back to the United States a little more than a week ago. He was brought back. But Ethan Couch is still fighting extradition.

So, what exactly is going to take place behind these closed doors today is prosecutors will be asking the judge in the case, which, by the way, is a different judge from the judge who originally sentenced Ethan Couch 10 years of probation and no jail time, which is obviously was very controversial sentence in the drunk driving deaths of four people.

So, those prosecutors here in Fort Worth asking for the judge to move Ethan's case from the juvenile system to the adult system where they think there could be stricter and more tough penalties, including the possibility of significantly more jail time.

So, all of that will play out. Ethan Couch's mother we have not seen arrive from what we understand. The judge basically sentenced her to home confinement. It is unclear whether or not she will be here. And we have not seen Ethan's father as well.

So, this is a hearing that is supposed to start in the next couple of minutes. Not clear how long it will last and when the judge will make a decision. All that expected to play out today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Ed Lavandera, reporting live from Texas this morning -- thank you.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

The opening bell just about 3 minutes away. And once again China is on the mind of investors. Stock futures are up despite news from China that its economy grew at its slowest pace in 25 years. We'll keep an eye on how the markets react today.

And just when you thought the market was already flooded with oil, Iran steps up to the plate. The oil ministry says they need to get into the game before other countries take their share, and they will ramp up oil production to 500,000 barrels per year. That extra supply could send oil prices even lower than their current levels.

Onto to politics now, the Iowa caucuses less than two weeks away and the battle for the state is hot, hot, hot.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz feverishly fighting for Iowa evangelicals. Trump speaking at Liberty University on Monday, and comparing his style of religion to Ronald Reagan's on the Christian Broadcasting Network to the apparent delight of rival Senator Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ronald Reagan wasn't, you know, totally -- he didn't read the bible every day, seven days a week. But he was a great president and he was a great president for Christianity and frankly I would say that I will be a far better leader.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ronald Reagan was a voice of consistency. And I'm pretty sure that Ronald Reagan didn't write checks and support Democratic politicians.

(END VIDEO CLI)

COSTELLO: All right. With me now, Reverend Jim Wallis, he's the president and founder of Sojourners, a network of progressive Christians. He's also the author of a brand new book titled, "America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to A New America."

Welcome, sir.

REVEREND JIM WALLIS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF SOJOURNERS: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you for stopping by.

All right. So, by this time, everybody knows Trump bungled the bible verse, that he's been married three times. He curses.

Yet, he's actually doing very well among evangelicals nationwide. Why is that?

WALLIS: Carol, let me be really clear about the gospel issue here. When he is deliberately fuelling racial fear and hatred, Donald Trump is poisoning and polluting the American political landscape. That is what he's doing. That is the gospel issue.

And the media is talking about the race. The book I wrote is about the state of race in America. And Donald Trump is really poisoning our atmosphere and that really is a gospel issue because many of the people he is attacking like Hispanic Americans are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

COSTELLO: But Christians are accepting at least part of this message. If he is doing that, why are Christians, some Christians, many Christians, evangelical, embracing him?

WALLIS: Well, in the book, I talk about racism from slavery as America's original sin and Dr. King we yesterday celebrated.