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Hulk Hogan Lawsuit Examined; Identifying Banksy. Aired Midnight-1a ET
Aired March 08, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[00:00:15] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is "CNN Newsroom," live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour: terror blow. A U.S. air strike takes out more than 100 al-Shabaab militants believed to be on the verge of a major attack. One in, one out. The EU and Turkey agree to the broad outlines of a plan to try and ease Europe's growing refugee crisis; and, and outing bank thieves, did a team of forensic profilers unmask one of the world's most famous yet anonymous artists?
Hello, everybody; great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. The first hour of "Newsroom" L.A. begins right now.
And we will begin this hour with the war on terror and new developments across Africa and into the UK. First in Somalia, the U.S. military says it has killed 150 suspected al-Shabaab militants in an aerial attack; that would make the U.S. air strike one of the largest ever against a terrorist target and the largest ever outside of Afghanistan. The strike happened Saturday at a training camp, just like this one, north of Mogadishu. A Pentagon spokesman says the group posed an imminent threat to the U.S., as well as African peacekeepers.
In Tunisia a resident of Ben Gardane, a town there, are being asked to stay indoors, after an attack on a military barracks near the border with Libya. Tunisia's interior military says security forces killed 36 terrorists and arrested seven others. At least 17 people, including civilians and national guardsmen and police officers died in the attack. Authorities are blaming ISIS.
And, Britain's counter terrorism chief says the U.K. it's preparing for potentially enormous and spectacular attacks from ISIS. He says the terror group is expanding its focus beyond military and police targets, although there's no specific intelligence of a non-terror plot.
Bob Baer is a former CIA operative. He's now CNN's Intelligence and Security Analyst and joins me from Newport Beach in California. Bob, good to have you here with us. Any idea what sort of large scale attack these al-Shabaab militants may have been on the verge of carrying out?
BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well that's the problem, they pick up intercepts and they're very vague and you can just sort of guess at what the targets are and when they are going to hit. So they make these strikes on imprecise information, if you like. The same way with Britain. They pick up a lot of chatter. They know something is coming. They would stop the attacks if they could but there's just not enough detail in the intercepts.
VAUSE: Yes; one U.S. official is telling CNN the al-Shabaab fighters were standing outside. They were in military information. It was almost like some kind of graduation. What does that tell you about the intelligence gathering here, also what was going on at this camp?
BAER: Well they're using overhead. They're using their drones, their satellites to watch the training go on. They wait for an assembly of the troops, want to kill as many as they can simply because these people are a threat to Kenya; they're a threat to Mogadishu and the rest of it. The only way they can get at them is by airstrikes, either drone or F-16s.
VAUSE: Yes; we are used to unmanned drones being used and you know, an assassination here and a drone strike here, but it seems that -- have they upped the ante here, significantly, by calling in F-16's and taking out so many militants at once?
BAER: Oh, absolutely; this is approaching regular warfare. I mean, you know, with hellfire missile with an AP sleeve, anti-personnel sleeve, you might get 20 of these guys, but with an F-16 strike, a couple of them, you basically take their graduating class, of a very dangerous military, you take them out.
VAUSE: You know, the last assessment we have of al-Shabaab numbers, I think, was around 8,000 fighters, (inaudible). But what sort of impact will this have; 150 militants dead?
BAER: It's going to be a huge impact. That's a lot of people for them. it's going to slow them down. I mean, you look at the border between Somalia and Kenya and it's wide opened the African Union is doing its best to protect Mogadishu but the rest of the country is, frankly, ungovernable and you have to hold these people back because their stated intentions are to destabilize whether it's Eretria or Kenya.
VAUSE: Okay, Bob, thank you; Bob Baer, our Security and Intelligence Analyst there giving us some very good insight. Appreciate it; thanks, Bob.
The European Union and Turkey have agreed on the outlines of a plan to try and ease the biggest refugee crisis facing the continent since World War II. Some are calling it the one in, one out deal. For every asylum seeker returned from Greece back to Turkey, EU countries will accept a Syrian refugee directly from Turkey where millions are living in camps, most driven there by the civil war in neighboring Syria.
[00:05:02] More than 120,000 migrants have arrived in Greece this year alone, most making the dangerous sea voyage from Turkey. Thousands are stranded in northern Greece, at the Macedonian border, which is effectively being closed to try and stop refugees from traveling to other countries in Europe. EU Officials are hoping for a formal agreement next week, but German Chancellor, Angela Merkel calls it "a break through."
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ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR, GERMANY, via translator: This proposal that was brought forward by the Turkish side is a breakthrough, if it is to be realized, because it would break this vicious cycle of entering illegally on a boat, and then, as a result, being given the right to stay in Europe. We will have to turn this around in order to achieve an orderly migration.
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VAUSE: Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon has more now on the hardships thousands are enduring in makeshift camps on the Greece/Macedonia border.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This family is from Damascus and they've been here for four days, like all the others trying to warm themselves at night with a little bit of a fire. People are really left to their own devices out here. It's also started to rain, which is making a miserable condition all that much worse. Some of the tents now have an extra layer of protection on them.
There are around 13,000, at least, people here. 40-percent of them, according to United Nations, are children. Some of these tents have things written on them like "Help Us" or "Open the Border." At this stage this is a population that is, according to the U.N. mostly made up of Iraqi's, Syrian's and Afghan's, all people who have fled war, who are living in limbo and what was a transit area, meant to house only 1500 people, which is why you see all of these brightly colored tents that have spread out on either side, there are entire families that end up crammed inside these various different tents, just waiting, hoping, knowing at this stage that their fate lies with the decision of European leaders.
Arwa Damon, CNN, on the Greece/Macedonia border.
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VAUSE: On to U.S. politics now. Voting begins in primaries in four more states in the coming hours. On the Republican side Donald Trump remains the frontrunner. He has 389 delegates. Ted Cruz, a strong second and now pressure is growing on the third placed, Marco Rubio, to pull out; but, as Jason Carroll reports, that's unlikely to happen.
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DONALD TRUMP (R) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who's going to win North Carolina?
[Cheering]
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's confidence on full display today campaigning in North Carolina, whose primary is more than a week ago. The GOP frontrunner running strong in tomorrow's big Super Tuesday prize, Michigan.
TRUMP: I've been to Michigan a lot and I think we're going to do well there.
CARROLL: A new Monmouth University poll released today shows Trump at 36-percent in the Wolverine state, followed by Cruz at 23-percent.
After big weekend wins, Trump and Cruz say the GOP primary fight is now turning into a two-man race.
TRUMP: Marco Rubio had a very, very bad night and personally I'd call for him to drop out of the race. think it's time now that he drop out of the race. I would love to take on ted one on one. that would be so much fun.
CRUZ: We started with 17 candidates. As the field narrows more and more and more, we're getting closer to a two-man race. I believe this race will end up with a two-man race between me and Donald Trump.
CARROLL: Cruz picking up some momentum after scoring wins this weekend in Kansas and Maine, helping close Trump's advantage in the delegate county. And, today, he's making the case to republican voters that they should line up behind him as the Trump alternative.
CRUZ: In this race it is clear a vote for any other candidate, a vote for Marco Rubio or a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump because there there's only one candidate who has beaten Donald Trump. There's only one candidate who can and will beat Donald Trump.
CARROLL: Trump, meanwhile, edging out Cruz in Kentucky and Louisiana.
Rubio earned his second victory of the primary season on Sunday, in Puerto Rico, coming on the heels of disappointing results in Saturday's contest and tonight Rubio responding to Trump and Cruz's calls that he should exit the race.
MARCO RUBIO (R-FL) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course Trump is calling on people to drop out but, you know, I think Donald's suffered some real damage over the last week. People are starting to learn that Donald Trump the character and Donald Trump the person are not the same thing and what you get as president is not the character you see on television; it's the person.
CARROLL: Rubio's effort to derail the frontrunner getting a boost from Super [00:10:02] PAC's opposed to Trump. The latest highlighting Trump's sometimes course language on the campaign trail.
TRUMP: {Bleep] he gets a nomination they're going to sue his [bleep]. She said he's a [bleep]. I don't give a [bleep]. We'll beat the [bleep] out of them.
CARROLL: The Rubio camp saying they're not expecting any wins, in any of Tuesday's states: no Michigan or Mississippi or Idaho or Hawaii. All their attention focused on Florida, a state they must win, a state they say they will win.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Tampa Florida.
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VAUSE: The latest to join the "Stop Donald Trump" campaign is a conservative group called "American Future Fund" which released a series of ads over the weekend featuring two decorated war veterans who accuse Trump of dodging the draft during the Vietnam War. They also slam his statements on POWs.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump hasn't served this country a day in his life; essentially dodged the draft in Vietnam through multiple deferments.
Don't let Trump fool you. Look into his real record and stop Trump now.
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VAUSE: There's also ongoing criticism of Trump's flip-flopping on torture and whether he would order the U.S. military to violate international laws to kill the families of terrorists. During last week's debate Trump said U.S. troops would follow his orders even if that meant breaking the law. He reversed course the next day, but then on Sunday said he wanted to change the law to allow torture and waterboarding.
Well, for more on this we're joined by Michael Pregent in Washington. He's a former intelligence advisor to U.S. General David Petraeus. He was Commander of International Forces in Afghanistan.
So Michael, this is what they call the commander-in-chief argument that someone like Donald Trump, is he ready for the burden of command?
MICHAEL PREGENT, FORMER INTELLILGENCE ADVISOR, GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS, via satellite: Well that's what we're looking for. We're looking to see whether or not Donald Trump can actually be the commander-in-chief and what we're looking at is his statements, his inconsistent statements. Also, you know, if you look at the torture statement he initially said the best way to go after ISIS is to go after the relatives of ISIS and kill them. And then he basically said the best thing for us to do is to work with Putin and Iran to fight ISIS in Syria. So we're looking for a commander-in-chief that actually knows what he's talking about.
He says he's against the Iran deal, but he's not against the Iran deal because Iran is a state-sponsor of terror. He's against the Iran deal because he thinks he could have made more money. He thinks U.S. businesses should actually be able to have contracts with Iran and make money and that's not something we're looking for in a commander- in-chief.
VAUSE: And on the deal - on the issue of the Iran deal, all the other candidates have said that they will rip up that Iran deal. Donald Trump says he won't because it's so too far gone he's basically try to renegotiate a better price or something; is that his stance?
PREGENT: The thing is, as he says hey, listen, the deal is done. It's not a deal I would have been a part of. It's a really bad deal, but to tear it up on day one, you just can't do that. Well, as a deal maker he should know that if the other party is already in breach, that's exactly what you do; you tear up the deal.
We're just looking for consistent statements. And those of us that are looking at differences in the candidates, we want to see a little bit of light between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who, right now, both support the deal. Both say it's a bad deal but both support the deal.
VAUSE: I mean, when you look at the flip-flopping of Donald Trump on issues like torture and, you know, whether or not the U.S. military has to follow international laws, what impact does that have on the U.S. military? What impact would that have, say internationally for the United States?
PREGENT: Well if he was actually the commander-in-chief and ordered the military to do something that was unlawful, illegal or immoral we just wouldn't do it. We have rules in place that we will not do something immoral or illegal. So the commander-in-chief cannot order you to do something. So he would be checked by the constitution. He would be checked by his own administration and he would certainly be checked by the joint chiefs of staff.
VAUSE: Okay, and very quickly here, you know, we had this thing that Donald Trump is continually talking about veterans, talking about the troops. He's out there raising money for military veterans, promising to make veteran affairs a priority should he be elected president. Does that resonate in any way?
PREGENT: No; it does. He's saying all the right things, when he's coming to the veterans and the Veterans Administration; he is. But we're not just veterans looking for the V.A. to help us out. We're also veterans looking for a commander-in-chief that can actually ensure that the sacrifices made by the U.S. military weren't in vain. So that's important.
VAUSE: Michael, good to speak with you. Thanks for coming in.
PREGENT: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Well, on the democratic side, they spent the day trying to win the Michigan voters ahead of Tuesday's primary. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders appeared at a town hall in Detroit. Clinton once again answered questions about the e-mails on her private server during her time as Secretary of State, insisting the information she shared was not classified.
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CLINTON: Others might say, you know, that wasn't at the time but now with [00:15:03] circumstances, we don't want to release it and therefore we have to classify it. I've asked, and I echo Colin Powell in this, release it; and once the American people see it they will know how absurd this is.
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VAUSE: Senator Sanders clarified his comments on Sunday about white people not knowing what it's like to be poor.
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SANDERS: I talk about poverty all of the time. What I meant by that is that in African-American communities you have people who are living in desperation, often being abused by white police officers. That is a bad thing. That has got to change. That is why I am fighting to reform a broken criminal justice system. But I know about white poverty. it exists in my state. It exists all over this country.
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Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders will face off again on Wednesday. CNN will air the Univision/Washington Post Democratic Debate live from Miami, 9:00 Eastern time; that is and 10:00 Thursday in Hong Kong.
A short break here, but when we come back almost two years on now investigators still holding out hope that MH370 will be found. Meantime, the families of those onboard have to make an important legal decision.
Also ahead, concern over North Korea's latest threats. Why they are not being met with the usual skepticism. You are watching CNN.
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VAUSE: Malaysia will hold a moment of silence on Tuesday to mark two years since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing. The flight mysteriously disappeared on its way to Beijing, March 8, 2014 with 239 people onboard. To this day investigators and some family members still believe the missing plane will be found. An interim report on the investigation is also expected on Tuesday. Relatives of passengers and crew face a Tuesday deadline to take legal action against the Malaysia Airlines.
Our aviation correspondent, Richard Quest chronicled the search effort in his new book "The Vanishing of Flight MH 370," which will be released on Tuesday, and he reports there are certainly many more questions than answers.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Through years of searching, tens of millions of dollars spent, countless theories about what happened, and still Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 hasn't been found. Experts say the plane is in the southern Indian Ocean where teams
funded by [00:20:02] Australia, Malaysia and China have scoured 70- percent of the huge target area above and below the waves. The search is unprecedented, in terms of cost and complexity. The remote area is 3,000 kilometers southwest of Perth, where the seas are rough with depths up to 6,000 meters, and the underwater terrain has mountains and canyons.
Officials are certain that they are searching in the right place, especially after two independent reports came to the same conclusion; and part of the plane, the flapper on, washed up on Reunion Island, an area consistent with oceanic drift models. Australian officials are also testing another piece of plane debris found last week by an American tourist in Mozambique. This location also fits the analysis.
MARTIN DOLAN, CHIEF COMMISSION, ATSB: We still are optimistic that we will find the aircraft and the current search (inaudible) there are still nearly 35,000 square kilometers to cover.
QUEST: So we have the where. We still don't have the why. What caused the plane to go off course? Was it a mechanical fault or nefarious action? We just don't know. There are those conspiracy theorists who still believe the plane was taken by a government or shot down.
For the families of the 239 victims on board, this two-year anniversary marks the deadline to either settle compensation claims or bring lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines. The families are also coming to terms with the ticking clock on the search operation. It will be called off this summer if the plane is not found and there are no new leads. A stark reality that, for the time being at least, the plane and their loved ones may not be found.
Richard Quest, CNN, New York
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VAUSE: North Korea's threats are often met with skepticism but this time some officials are concerned that North Korea's rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea might be a little more serious. Brian Todd reports.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Explosions thundering up a mountainside, hundreds of thousands of troops storming ashore by sea and air. These are massive joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea. Another round has just kicked off and now Kim Jong-Un is furious, issuing an ominous warning.
Through its official news reader, North Korea's regime says it will launch a "preemptive and offensive nuclear strike in response to the drills."
JAMIE METZL, FORMER OFFICER, U.S. NATIONAL SECUIRTY COUNCIL: They have threatened nuclear attack before but the farther North Korea progresses in its development of nuclear weapons and delivery mechanisms, like its advanced rockets, the more serious those threats become and the more seriously everybody else needs to take them.
TODD: A U.S. defense official tells CNN the Pentagon is closely monitoring the tension on the Korean Peninsula, calling on Kim's regime to refrain from provocative action. But there have been provocations near the world's most heavily armed border for two solid months. There was North Korea's fourth nuclear test; its rocket launch; U.S. stealth fighters flying low over South Korea; and, recently, damaging U.N. sanctions against Kim's government.
Could Kim back up the nuclear threat? A U.S. official tells CNN his efforts to advance ballistic missile capabilities are a serious concern. Weapons experts say Kim could probably launch a nuclear attack from close range, hitting Japan or South Korea if he wanted to; but analysts there is a key long-range missile capability he doesn't yet have, preventing him from hitting the United States.
JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, PRESIDENT, THE PLOUGHSHARES FUND: A reentry vehicle to come back down and deliver the warhead on target, major strides yet to be made.
TODD: Still, U.S. officials say Kim is working feverishly towards perfecting that missile capability. Most experts believe Kim would not launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the U.S. or South Korea. That, they say, would bring about his country's annihilation but they say this a young leader who is unpredictable and under enormous strain.
METZL: Kim Jong-Un is under immense pressure to demonstrate his leadership. Certainly that explains some of this escalation. Additionally, North Korea is feeling it's positions weakening, its relationship with China is fraying; its economy is in terrible shape.
TODD: Analysts say more likely than a nuclear strike from Kim is a conventional attack, maybe a commando raid or possibly a cyberattack, like the one North Korea is accused of launching against Sony. In fact, South Korea's intelligence agency now says in recent days North Korea has tried to hack the smartphones of South Korean officials.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington
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[00:25:05] Well, still to come here on CNN, the court case with the TV reporter, a peeping tom and a $55 million verdict. Also ahead, wrestler Hulk Hogan back in court, suing over a sex tape. We will have more on that in a moment.
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[00:28:13] Welcome back everybody; you're watching CNN Newsroom, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with a check of the headlines this hour: (HEADLINES) Okay, let's get to the news out of the court system here. Erin Andrews, an American TV sports broadcaster, has been awarded $55 million in a peeping tom lawsuit. Andrews had sued the man who secretly recorded her naked, as well as the management of the hotel where it happened back in 2008. The jury found both defendants at fault. Andrews expressed her thanks to the jury and supporters after the verdict.
Let's bring in Darren Kavinoky here, our criminal defense attorney for more on this. Okay, this a huge pay out. It seems like a lot of money, especially when you look at some of the wrongful death cases: Eric Gardner in New York, for example. His family received $5.9 million because of a wrongful - you know, because he was - wrongful (inaudible) death by the hands of the New York Police. So why so much?
DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well we have to look at each case on its own. It's so interesting because when you start comparing the landscape, and say, well, wait a second. Why so much here and not so much here. The jury in the Erin Andrews case is told, just as every jury is, only to pay attention to the evidence that's given to you in court. So cases that are outside of their immediate purview, they should disregard.
[00:30:05] I think it's all too easy and all too dangerous to Monday morning quarterback and say well, why the disparity. Because the jury in this particular case said so.
VAUSE: Okay, so let's look at - let's take the emotion and the creepiness out of it because, obviously, this is pretty awful what she went through. There's no denying it.
KAVINOKY: You can't take the creepiness out of it when it comes to me, but go on.
VAUSE: We'll do our best; you know, the defense made this argument that, okay, it is awful what happened but where are the damages here? Her career has not been harmed in any way; in fact, it's probably taken off since this incident happened.
KAVINOKY: Right.
VAUSE: She still travels. She still goes to hotels.
KAVINOKY: Right.
VAUSE: Where is the $55 million worth of damage?
KAVINOKY: So the idea that her career has taken off may be more coincidence than causal, that is, it didn't take off because of the [inaudible, cross talk] it was in spite of; and, frankly, I think that it paints them in a bad light. You have to make the best argument that you can but I don't think it made the Marriott look good to say hey; come on, she benefitted from this. The reason so much is that even though somebody is a celebrity they still have a zone of privacy when it comes to the most intimate of their surroundings, like a hotel room, where they have the freedom, seemingly so, to get undressed.
VAUSE: Very quickly: this is a 50/50 split between the hotel management, not Marriott International, which is the parent company which is a different company, and the stalker, Michael Barrett. He's zero chance to pay out the money, right?
KAVINOKY: Right; no, he has few assets. He is judgment proof. So it's always a strategy where lawyers are always mindful of where is the deep pocket. So they have to have a theory by which they could bring somebody who actually had the ability to pay into the fray. Now, interestingly, attorneys for the Marriott are saying that they are considering bankruptcy. So, ultimately, what can happen, even after a jury verdict, is a successful negotiated settlement. So attorneys from Marriott and for Erin Andrews may get together and say, look, instead of appealing this thing and -
VAUSE: Settle for a lot less.
KAVINOKY: Or a little less, whatever it is.
VAUSE: Well they can negotiate. Stay with us because Hulk Hogan, everyone may know him, you know the big wrestler, very famous guy, he's suing Gawker Media. He wants $100 million after that site published a portion of a sex tape featuring, of course, Mr. Hogan. He claims he was unaware he was being filmed, a violation of his privacy. Lawyers for Gawker contend they're actually protected under the First Amendment because Hogan made his sex life a matter of public interest. Is there a similarity in these cases in any way? Can he be expecting a payout here?
KAVINOKY: Well, maybe, and we're early on in the trial, so we will have to see how this one plays out but really what this will turn on is whether Gawker was truly innocent in the way that they acquired thus tape. Hulk Hogan may have made a reference to his sex life in various public forums. That may or may not protect Gawker, in terms of their having clean hands in this relationship. So ultimately a lot more yet to be determined.
VAUSE: The interesting thing about this case because, you know, sex tapes and celebrities go together these days like peanut butter and jelly. I mean, does that have any relevance here?
KAVINOKY: Well certainly celebrities do have a diminished expectation of privacy but that expectation of privacy doesn't mean that everything in a celebrity's life is fair game. So really what it will turn on is the unique facts, are the unique facts in the sex that Hulk Hogan had with this another woman, if it were under circumstances that would suggest that he had the legitimate expectation of privacy, --
VAUSE: Right.
KAVINOKY: -- as opposed to know that there were cameras there, it is a very different case. It's more like Erin Andrews if he believes that this was something that was private, just between the two of them. If, however, it is simply a matter of I knew I was being filmed, who had possession of the video card, now it is a very different case and Gawker looks a lot better there.
VAUSE: One to follow, an interesting case -
KAVINOKY: We'll be back on this one. VAUSE: Looking forward to it, keep the creepy.
KAVINOKY: I have no choice. Thanks, John.
VAUSE: We will take a short break here. For more than a decade the street artist known as "Banksy" has been able to keep his identity a mystery but now a group of scientists say they may have pinpointed just who he really is.
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[00:37:24] VAUSE: The same technology used to identify criminals and the sources of viral outbreaks is also being used to reveal the identity of "Banksy," the world's most famous and most elusive street artist. Using the locations of dozens of the artist's works, scientists say the sites are linked to just one candidate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This film is the story of what happened when this guy tried to make a documentary about me. He was actually a lot more interested than I am. So now the film is kind of about him.
VAUSE: Perpetually hidden in the shadows, a humble front for the world's most famous street artist, pulling off stunts like this one in Disneyland, hanging a dummy dressed like a Guantanamo Bay prisoner. His work spans the globe from London to New York to the West Bank, always with a message. In Bethlehem he put a dove in a sniper's crosshairs. Or, in Britain, "Welcome to Dismaland", again mocking Disney as well as Europe's response to the migrant crisis, as well as celebrity culture.
In New York's Meatpacking District, he loaded a truck full of stuffed animals squeaking for help. And, in the Bronx he pointed a finger at privilege, showing a servant catering to a young graffiti artist. Occasionally the message gets lost, like in 2006 when he tried drawing attention to poverty by literally painting the elephant in the room. Animal rights activists were furious.
BILL DYER, IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS: It's exploitation and it's meaningless and unnecessary and stupid.
VAUSE: Banksy's work is also profitable. One sold at auction for $145,000. Some pieces are cut from the wall to be sold, others are stolen and fans flock to Banksy his exhibit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always like to see Banksy stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a long-term Banksy fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I love street art. I'm really into Banksy.
VAUSE: Now the world may be closer to unmasking Banksy. Researchers in London used a technique called geographic profiling to identify a so-called anchor point by mapping 140 of the artist's works. The evidence they say zeroes in on Robin Gunningham, who was first ID'ed by the tabloid "Daily Mail" in 2008. The study concedes it is difficult to make conclusive statements about Banksy's identity. Plus, Banksy and the Gunningham family deny any connection. So, for now, the mystery continues.
[00:40:01] VAUSE: For more on the detective work, let's go to Kim Rossmo. He's a criminologist and research professor at Texas State University who joins us now via Skype. Kim, can you explain in very simple, broad brush strokes here how this geographic profiling actually works?
DR. KIM ROSSMO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE at TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY: Geographic profiling is typically used in a police investigation of a serial crime, say a serial murder or rapist or robber and it analyzes the locations where they've committed their crimes by using computer software, called (inaudible). It works its way backwards and gives us a color map showing the location where the offender most likely lives.
VAUSE: Okay; so I guess there is obviously a bigger application for using this type of technology. Some say it can be used to track down terrorists.
ROSSMO: Well one of the purposes of the Banksy study was to see how well it would work with something like graffiti, and we had done an earlier study based on some data collected by the Gestapo in the Second World War, in Berlin, and that was very promising. The reason we did this is a large project we did looking at terrorism in Europe and Asia. We found that there was often many examples of seditious graffiti that were being used or put forth by support groups for terrorists. We thought this would be a means of intelligence rather than wait for an explosion or a major terrorist act. It would be wise to track a lot of the minor stuff, analyze it and then get some idea of where to focus investigations because counterterrorism efforts suffer from information overload: lots of suspects, lots of tips. Where do you start? Who do you pay attention to?
VAUSE: Very quickly, Kim, what about the potential for misuse here? Surely if someone wants to remain unidentified and private, don't they have that right?
ROSSMO: Well if somebody wants to remain unidentified and private they probably shouldn't be putting their artwork on other people's property in public places. So if you're talking about Banksy, he is playing a bit of a game with everyone and that's to his credit. He also can't expect to be ignored or anonymous. This particular case, Gunningham was identified through an investigation by reporters many years ago. We just assessed whether or not he was a good suspect geographically.
VAUSE: One thing which I thought was interests was that in this study graffiti is described as a minor terrorism related act?
ROSSMO: No, that was something that somebody picked up and then was repeated by a number of newspapers and reporters. What we said was that some terrorists engaged in minor acts, including seditious graffiti. Most graffiti is not acts of terrorism. So somebody twisted that around and got it all wrong. VAUSE: Hey, Kim, I'm glad we sorted that out. We're out of time, but thank you very much. We appreciate you so much for explaining how all of this works.
ROSSMO: You are welcome.
VAUSE: And thank you for watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles; I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up next. You're watching CNN.
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