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GOP Rivals Gearing Up for Nevada Caucuses; Democrats Looking Ahead to South Carolina Primary; Today: Shooting Suspect Arraigned; San Bernardino Victims May Side With Government. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired February 22, 2016 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00] CUOMO: Viral and they can go unnoticed. So what does the store do? They give Colin a customer satisfaction award from the chain usually given to an entire department. They made Colin the first person to ever receive this as an individual.
PEREIRA: That's really cool.
CUOMO: He did the whole work of a team is what they're trying to tell him.
PEREIRA: You're a trendsetter, Colin. We love it. Congratulations.
CAMEROTA: That's great. Much like Carol Costello every day.
PEREIRA: Very much.
CUOMO: Every day.
CAMEROTA: Time for "NEWSROOM" now.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Carol --
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh no. There is no I in team.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: You guys have a great day. True. You guys have a great day. NEWSROOM starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump looking to hit the jackpot in Nevada.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love to win. Don't we love to win?
COSTELLO: Is he unstoppable?
TRUMP: I'll tell you what, we're just going one after another.
COSTELLO: But not so fast. Sanders says he is the guy to stop the GOP frontrunner.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And you want a candidate who is going to defeat Donald Trump. You're looking at that candidate.
COSTELLO: And Clinton tackles voters' trust issues .
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, is she in it for us or is she in it for herself?
COSTELLO: Can she keep momentum rolling into South Carolina?
Plus an Uber driver accused in a deadly shooting rampage in Michigan.
JEFF GETTING, KALAMAZOO COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: They were intentional, deliberate. Coldly done is what I want to say.
COSTELLO: Allegedly picking up passengers between killings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're kind of driving through medians, driving through the lawn.
COSTELLO: What we're learning about this suspect and the six victims.
Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Republicans ready to rumble. Next stop Nevada, with the clock ticking down the caucus night, the candidates are hitting the state today trying to lock in last-minute support. And with Jeb Bush out of the race the race is on to capture his supporters and his donors as Trump rides momentum after Saturday's big win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We won with everything. We won with women. I love the women. We won with women.
(CHEERS)
TRUMP: We won with men. I'd rather win with women to be honest but that's OK. We won with evangelicals. We won with the military. We won with highly educated, pretty well educated and poorly educated. But we won with everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And with Super Tuesday just around the corner the big question on everyone's mind, is Trump unstoppable?
Let's bring in CNN's Chris Frates. He is live in Las Vegas this morning. Hi, Chris.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning from Sin City, Carol, where Republicans are getting ready for the next round of this bruising primary fight with tomorrow's caucuses here in Nevada. The top three winners in South Carolina coming out across the state to tell voters their message.
Donald Trump trying to cement his lead at the top of this field. Ted Cruz is arguing he is the only real conservative in this field. And then Marco Rubio making the case that he is the only candidate who can unite Republicans and defeat Democrats in November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES (voice-over): A reordered Republican field is barn storming across Nevada ahead of the caucuses Tuesday. Trump's sweeping victory in South Carolina over the weekend still sinking in.
TRUMP: It is crunch time. We have to go out and vote.
FRATES: Trump is looking to build on his momentum after back-to-back victories with his sights set on Super Tuesday one week after Nevada's showdown.
TRUMP: I will tell you what, we're just going one after another. Are we going to win Georgia? Yes.
FRATES: The GOP frontrunner was stirring up controversy over the weekend by re-tweeting this message claiming both Cruz and Rubio are ineligible to beat POTUS and defending the re-tweet on ABC's "This Week."
TRUMP: I'd say I've never looked at it. Somebody said he is not and I re-tweeted it. I re-tweet things and we start dialogue, and it's very interesting.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to spend zero time on his interpretation of the Constitution with regards to eligibility and I'm going to spend all my time talking about what this campaign should be about.
FRATES: Questioning opponents' eligibility for the presidency is a favorite Trump attack. Texas Senator Ted Cruz meanwhile is sharpening his counter-attack.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For folks who are concerned that Donald Trump is not the best candidate to go head-to- head with Hillary Clinton in November, it is becoming clearer and clearer that we are the one campaign that can beat Donald Trump, indeed we're the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump.
FRATES: And Marco Rubio is making the case in Las Vegas that he is the new face of the conservative movement.
RUBIO: Of people left in this race no one can unite this movement or this party faster than I can. We will unite the Republican Party and the conservative movement.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FRATES: So one candidate missing in action here in the Silver State, Jeb Bush. He dropped out of the race after a disappointing fourth place finish in South Carolina.
[09:05:04] And that huge Republican field we started this race with last year down to just five candidates going into tomorrow's caucuses -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Chris Frates reporting live from Las Vegas this morning.
Donald Trump as you heard is still throwing punches like an alpha male while his opponents seem content with duking it out for second place. Before we talk rancor, however, let's pause to imagine what it would be like if our politicians got along. Queue "The Simpsons."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I like Ted Cruz. He's been very nice to me. As an act of love.
CRUZ: This is an issue where Bernie and I are in complete agreement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't drop me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trust me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Yes. And nice doesn't cut it. Innuendo does, though. Donald Trump once again using the birther card re-tweeting this message claiming both Cruz and Rubio are ineligible to be president of the United States.
Rubio's parents, by the way, were born in Cuba but Rubio himself, he was born in Miami, Florida.
With me now is Jeff DeWit. He's a Trump supporter. And staff writer for the "Weekly Standard" Michael Warren is with me, too.
Welcome to both of you.
MICHAEL WARREN, STAFF WRITER, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
JEFF DEWIT, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning. So, Jeff, seriously, this birther thing?
DEWIT: Say that one more time? I'm sorry, Carol.
COSTELLO: Jeff, this birther thing, seriously?
DEWIT: I'm getting something in the mike. Say that one more time.
COSTELLO: Can you hear me clearly enough?
DEWIT: Sorry.
COSTELLO: OK. We're going to fix -- we're going to fix Jeff's technical problems. But, so I'll -- Jeff, are you back?
DEWIT: I'm back. There we go.
COSTELLO: Yes. You're back and the technical flaws are gone. So this birther thing that Trump keeps throwing out, seriously?
DEWIT: Well, it's a very good thing to point out. Obviously, if we allow someone through the Republican primary that isn't eligible to be in the ballot, the Democrats aren't going to say anything about it right now but they'll bring it up later.
Ted Cruz, as we all know, was not born in America. He was born in Canada. He moved here when he was 4 years old. Marco Rubio has a very, very different problem in that both of his parents were not legal residents of the United States when he was born. So here you have somebody whose parents --
COSTELLO: Oh, Jeff.
DEWIT: Were here, they were not even citizens. But they were not --
COSTELLO: Jeff.
DEWIT: As far as the official they were not legal residents.
COSTELLO: Jeff, Jeff, Jeff, Jeff.
DEWIT: When he was born. And there is a question. There is a question that should get answered.
COSTELLO: No, Jeff. No, Jeff. Michael, help me out here. There is no question that Marco Rubio is an American citizen. He was born in Miami, Florida. Doesn't matter where his parents came from. Ted Cruz is an American citizen. Right? He was born to an American mother.
Michael, help me out.
WARREN: I mean, Carol, there's really nothing more to say. The truth is that Marco Rubio was born in the United States. He is a U.S. citizen, there's no question about it. And I just think it's ridiculous for Jeff or for anybody supporting Trump to say otherwise, and to sort of call into question these conspiracy theories about whether or not if your parents weren't born -- I mean, the idea that if your parents had to both be citizens for you to be a citizen then none of us would be citizens. It's ridiculous. It's a logical fallacy. And I mean, this is just -- I have nothing else to say. It's ridiculous.
COSTELLO: I know. My father wouldn't be an American citizen because both of his parents were born in Italy. But anyway, here's a question for you, Jeff. Why does Donald Trump resort to these things? He is so far ahead he doesn't need to.
DEWIT: You know, one of the top topics of the entire campaign, entire election, really, and of the electorate is immigration. And with the GOP they want to know that someone is going to be strong on the border and strong in immigration and obviously that's where nobody can touch where Donald Trump is. Donald Trump is leading the pack. He is by far the strongest at protecting our country when we have drugs pouring over the border.
Myself being in Arizona we know firsthand that tens of thousands of people that come over illegally every month there's a big problem on the border. There's drugs pouring over. Now we have ISIS coming over the border. You have problems. There's only one candidate that's going to do anything to fix it and that's Donald Trump.
And when you look at someone like Marco Rubio and his pro-amnesty stance, obviously when you look back and you think well, that's -- you know, we look at his parents and how they were both not legal residents when he was born, it starts to play a role in the GOP electorate.
COSTELLO: All right.
DEWIT: In just how they're going to vote.
COSTELLO: OK. So there is no clear evidence that ISIS is pouring over the Mexican-United States border. But, Michael, I'll post this next question to you. Well, wait, hold on, hold on, Jeff.
Michael, Marco Rubio, his response to all of this is just rather tepid. He seems content to duke it out with Ted Cruz for second place. Why doesn't he punch back hard on these things?
[09:10:03] WARREN: Well, I think the idea, if I gather things correctly from the Rubio folks, is that Donald Trump really isn't -- has a ceiling essentially. There was a memo sent out by the campaign yesterday that suggested that Donald Trump doesn't really have anywhere to grow. I mean, that's somewhat true, but, you know, it's also true that he's winning in states, he's winning delegates, and at some point, if you do want to take him on and beat him and win the nomination as Marco Rubio does, you have to do it, you have to take him on.
And so I'm a little perplexed why Rubio does do that. But then, again, you know, if you listen to Jeff here, and it's kind of insane to have to go toe-to-toe with people who are just talking about random things that have nothing to do with each other. Marco Rubio's heritage has nothing to do with his position on immigration, it's just kind of a red herring. There's plenty to, you know, talk about with Rubio's position on the issue. And he may be in the wrong on it. But I mean, it's just kind of insane to hear what I'm hearing today.
COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Michael Warren, Jeff DeWit, thanks to both of you.
The five remaining Republican presidential candidates will meet for the next GOP debate this Thursday night in Houston. Wolf Blitzer will moderate the CNN GOP president debate. It starts at 8:30 p.m. only on CNN.
A strong win in Nevada and a sharper message from Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are all in this together. We all have to do our part. We need you to be part of that exciting journey we can make together. With your help that is the tomorrow we will build for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton's next face-off Saturday in South Carolina. Clinton holding a commanding lead among Democrats there with 57 percent support in the latest CNN poll of polls.
Jeff Zeleny is in Charleston with more on this. Good morning, Jeff.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. There is no question that the Clinton campaign is coming into South Carolina where that primary on Saturday is oh, so important. She is coming in here with a strong lead and also trying to avenge her loss here eight years ago.
We've talked a lot about, you know, Iowa and New Hampshire about, you know -- how things went in '08 for her there. But in 2008 for her here in South Carolina it was such a punishing loss to Barack Obama. So she wants to avenge that and it looks like she certainly has a strong, strong, strong commanding lead here. But Bernie Sanders was campaigning throughout today yesterday in Greenville, South Carolina, meeting with the black pastors, he asked South Carolina voters to also make history. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: South Carolina has the opportunity to make American history and I hope you will. This campaign has taken on the economic establishment, all of the big money interest. Let me tell you, Wall Street is getting nervous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: But, Carol, it is an open question if that message of Wall Street is really going to play here in South Carolina or not. Hillary Clinton is going to be campaigning throughout the week with mothers of children who have died through gun violence. It's one way she is trying to distinguish her record from Senator Sanders' among gun violence specifically and gun control. But already now we've only had three contests, Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. But in the delegate count which this -- which is what this is going to be delegate fight, Clinton has a commanding lead.
Listen to these numbers. Clinton has 496 delegates compared to an estimate of 69 delegates for Bernie Sanders. They're even on the number of pledge delegates but the superdelegates, the leaders of the Democratic Party that pledged their support to her, give her an overwhelming support. So the reality of this race is it's going to go on, you know, for weeks and months to come. But she has a big lead in delegates. And that is a very important thing to keep in mind and remember -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Jeff Zeleny, reporting live from South Carolina this morning.
Clinton and Sanders will come face-to-face with the voters of South Carolina for the final time tomorrow night. A Democratic town hall moderated by Chris Cuomo starts at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Uber driver suspected of gunning down six victims in Kalamazoo is stepping in front of a judge. We'll take you live to Michigan next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:16:02] COSTELLO: The suspect in the Kalamazoo shootings is expected to be arraigned today on multiple murder charges. Investigators believe 45-year-old Jason Dalton, an Uber driver erratically drove through the Michigan City Saturday night gunning down six seemingly random victims.
CNN's Ryan Young live in Michigan with more. Good morning.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. There's lot of questions here. Obviously this community is so very upset. We went to a vigil last night, saw a lot of people joining hands together, talking about this out loud because right now they don't have a motive for why this crime happened.
In fact, just in the last 20 minutes or so we've been able to get this picture of one of the victims, this is 62-year-old Mary Lou Nye. She was killed. A part of spree where he shot eight people killing six of them.
A lot of people in this community want to know what happened and why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG (voice-over): Kalamazoo is in mourning looking for answers after six people were killed and two others injured in a shooting rampage on Saturday night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an opportunity we get to pray for our victims.
YOUNG: Authorities say the suspect, 45-year-old Jason Dalton, doesn't appear to be connected to any of the victims.
JEFF GETTING, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, KALAMAZOO COUNTY: These were very deliberate killings. They were intentional, deliberate, and I don't want to say casually done. Coldly done is what I want to say.
YOUNG: Neighbors who know the alleged shooter say they're in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just seemed so normal. This is so, so strange. We are wondering what might have caused to do this.
[09:20:04]YOUNG: Dalton worked as an Uber driver. A passenger who rode in his car just before the shooting said he was acting strange.
MATT MELLEN, PASSENGER IN ALLEGED SHOOTER'S CAR: We were kind of driving through medians, driving through the lawn, speeding along. And then finally once he came to a stop, I jump out of the car and ran away.
YOUNG: Shortly after that, authorities say the nearly seven-hour shooting spree started. At 5:42 p.m., a woman is shot several times in a parking lot at an apartment complex. She survived but is in serious condition.
At 10:08 p.m., Richard Smith and his 17-year-old son, Tyler, are shot and killed at a car dealership. At 10:24 p.m., Dalton pulls into this parking lot at a cracker barrel, where he allegedly kills four women in their cars, all over the age of 60.
A 14-year-old girl was also shot but survived. Finally, after midnight, police locate Dalton's car.
PAUL MATYAS, UNDERSHERIFF, KALAMAZOO COUNTY: We determined that this was indeed our suspect. He was taken into custody.
YOUNG: Investigators believed Dalton was looking to pick up passengers even after the final shooting. Uber said in a statement, "We are horrified and heartbroken at the senseless violence. We have reached out to the police to help with their investigation in any way that we can."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG: Carol, there was some initial confusion about that 14 year old. In fact they thought she was dead. She is still alive, just imagine the impact in this community. The first shooting happened to the woman who also survived the shooting who was shot in front of several children.
People asking the questions and trying to figure out the motives as this arraignment is just a few hours away. A lot of people are hoping that police will be able to provide some answers.
But obviously in a tragedy like this, nothing will probably make any of these lives complete again in terms of what has happened here.
COSTELLO: You are right. There are no good answers, right? Ryan Young reporting live from Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Apple's fight with the FBI is getting even more complicated. Some victims of the San Bernardino terror attack are now expected to throw their support behind the government and call on Apple to break into an iPhone used by one of the killers. CNN justice reporter, Evan Perez, and CNN Money technology correspondent, Laurie Segall have more on this. I want to start with the investigation, though, and you, Evan.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning, Carol. Steven Larsson is the name of this attorney, a former judge in California. He says he is now representing several of the victims and the families from the San Bernardino attack in December.
He says they are weighing in on the side of the government because they still have a lot of questions that need to be answered. The FBI director for his part, James Comey, weighed in himself for the first time personally with a blog post on the blog, "Law Fair."
In that he says this is an investigation that is not about everybody's cell phone. This is only about one terrorist's cell phone and says, quote, "The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message.
It is about the victims' injustice. Fourteen people were slaughtered and many more had their lives and bodies ruined. We owe them a thorough and professional investigation under the law."
We should note, Carol, that despite the fact that the FBI is trying to limit the case and make this only about one cell phone in San Bernardino, there is no doubt that this is going to be a broader case and broader implications.
We could see that already because law enforcement in New York, for instance, has weighed in saying they have 175 phones they would like open. So if the FBI gets its wish here in this case, Carol, there is no doubt there will be other requests coming.
COSTELLO: Of course, that is why Apple is fighting against the FBI. I understand, Laurie, this morning the Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, e-mailed his employees.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: He put up a letter that says thank you for your support and also put out a public Q&A because a lot of folks are looking at the FBI allegations and they want to know what can Apple do.
I want to read you a little of what Tim Cook said in this letter. He said the case is about much more than a single phone or single investigation. At stake is data security of hundreds of millions of law abiding people and setting a dangerous precedent that threatens everyone's civil liberties.
Now he went on to suggest that the FBI withdraw their demand. That they put together some kind of commission with experts from civil liberty experts. They said Apple would be happy to participate in this.
One thing also interesting in this Q&A is that they have the technical ability to open up this phone to be able to build a new operating system. But what he said was we should not fill this tool and a dangerous tool. Some technology shouldn't be built -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Laurie Segall, Evan Perez, thanks to both of you.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Democrats zeroing in on the black vote in their bids for the White House, but can Bernie sanders close the gap with Hillary Clinton?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:29:03]
COSTELLO: Bill Cosby's wife will soon be under oath, a judge forcing Camille Cosby to be deposed this morning. Despite a last ditch effort by her husband's lawyers to stop the deposition from moving forward.
Eight women are suing Bill Cosby for defamation in relation to sexual assault accusations against him. Jean Caserez is following this for us. Good morning.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it is amazing that we have gotten here because this is a 71-year-old woman. She has been married 51 years to Bill Cosby. Now she at this moment believed sitting for a deposition.
We haven't seen her enter the hotel at the Marriott hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts. Remember, it is a hotel, she could have stayed there overnight. We have seen one of her attorneys enter the hotel.
But the reason we have come to this point is that this was a defamation suit brought by accusers of Bill Cosby saying that we know the statute of limitations has expired that we were sexually assaulted, but you defamed us in 2014 when you and your people said that we were liars.
We are not liars. So we are going to bring this defamation suit against you.
