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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Presidential Race Turns to New York; New Video of Brussels Terror Suspect. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired April 07, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

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[12:00:24] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Pamela Brown, filling in for Ashleigh Banfield on this Thursday. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

It's the race for the White House and for now a pause for voters and a breather. Twelve whole days until the next primary votes are cast. But the price is a big one for both the Republican and Democratic candidates. It's New York. And today Hillary Clinton, polling very well there, hit the streets like a native New Yorker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Hey you! You're not sorry! Tell the whole wide world this is Clinton territory! Hey you! You not sorry. Tell the whole wide world this is Clinton territory!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back up. Let's back up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) of the United States, Hillary Clinton.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president of the United States.

(CROSS TALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a normal subway right.

CLINTON: Hey, we're jammed in there. You've got to move a little bit, Dan (ph). We've got to get more people in. No, careful, careful.

Careful, careful.

Oh, what's her name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brianna. My mother, my grandmother, we all love you.

CLINTON: Good. I need - I need your help. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So you see there Hillary Clinton in the Bronx and she also took a ride on the number 4 train, as well. And she told reporter she's a big fan of those, quote, "New York values," words the Republican candidates are still hurling at each other like stones. We're going to have more on that in just a second, but we want to turn to Philadelphia because this morning there Bernie Sanders continued his new attack of painting Hillary Clinton with the label "unqualified" and says she's under estimating him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Secretary Clinton thinks, you know, that just because I'm from a small state in Vermont, and we're going to come here to New York and go to Pennsylvania and they're going to beat us up and they're going to go after us in some kind of really uncalled for way, that we're not going to fight back. Well, we've got another, you know, they can guess again because that's not the case. This campaign will fight back.

QUESTION: I understand Bernie Sanders thinks that you're not qualified.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it's kind of a silly thing to say, but I'm going to trust the voters of New York who know me and have voted for me three times, twice for Senate, once in the presidential primary. Look, I didn't - I don't know why he's saying that, but I will take Bernie Sanders over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz anytime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So speaking of Ted Cruz, he's campaigning in upstate New York. And New York, of course, could be considered enemy territory for him. He is a Texas guy who's fared well in the south for busting on what he calls New York values. Well, New Yorkers tend to remember such things.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our friends in the media tell us that Donald Trump is unstoppable in New York state. Oddly enough, our friends in the media are very comfortable with the New York liberal who has supported Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clinton and Trump children - yes (ph) - and they really want to see an general election between two New York liberals who agree on Washington being the center of the universe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Dana Bash in upstate New York, where Senator Ted Cruz is rallying supporters. Also joining us, Joe Johns in Philadelphia, following the Sanders campaign.

Dana, to you first. How deep of a hole did Senator Cruz dig himself in New York? And are people buying his explanation that it's the, quote, liberal Democrats and not the voters he was referring to?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Are they buying it? Up here they certainly are buying it because this is a place where a lot of the voters here at this rally, which just wrapped up I should say, told me point blank, they don't see themselves as that kind of New Yorker. That upstate New York and New York City are two completely different worlds from their pot of view, particularly in this kind of area where the voters tend to vote Republican and are - really embrace the concepts of what Ted Cruz said about New York values.

Now some, I should say, wish he didn't say that because they understand that that maybe denigrates people, even those who, you know - who they don't agree with. But by and large, this is the area where Ted Cruz is hoping, if he can - not necessarily win New York, but hold down Donald Trump's overall delegate count and add to his own delegate count. This is the kind of area in New York where he could do it. Not so much in the Bronx, where he went yesterday, or Brooklyn, where he's going to go later today.

[12:05:22] BROWN: And a lot can happen in 12 days. Thanks so much, Dana Bash.

I want to now to Joe (INAUDIBLE).

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Allegations over who is qualified for president, Pamela. The Hillary Clinton campaign has called on Bernie Sanders to take back his words that he uttered last night here in Philadelphia. But in a news conference earlier today, Bernie Sanders was not backing down. In fact, he was more doubling down, restating, if you will, some of his assertions that Hillary Clinton is unqualified to be president because of her support from big banks, because of her support for the Iraq War and for trade deals that Bernie Sanders says hurt the American worker.

But, look, this is just a clear indication of the kind of escalation in the campaign we see as these two candidates move to New York, where they both have significant ties. And anybody could have told you it was going to get nasty at this point as they move to what is arguably the home state for both candidates, Pamela.

BROWN: Yes, some might argue escalation is an underestimate. Thanks so much, Joe Johns. Appreciate it.

And I want to bring in now, Stephen Miller, senior policy adviser for the Donald Trump campaign. Angela Rye, CNN political commentator and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. Also joining us, Matt Lewis, CNN political commentator and contributor to "The Daily Beast."

Stephen, first to you, because we heard in that video Ted Cruz sort of doubling down on his comments about New York values. We've heard Donald Trump really sort of revive his attack against him for those comments. Are you all - are you and your candidate going to continue to hammer away at him for that?

STEPHEN MILLER, SENIOR POLICY ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: We're going to hammer him for it, I can promise you that. That's a great word. We are going to hammer Ted Cruz for that comment because you can't win in the state in which he is attacking the values of that state. It can't be done. It's politically impossible. He's going to lose. He's going to lose very badly. It was frankly one of the worst things Ted Cruz has said this entire campaign.

BROWN: What do you think, Matt, about this strategy of sort of not backing off those comments in New York?

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look - by the way, let me say, I think that was one of Donald Trump's best moments in that debate where he defended people who came - 9/11, people who were involved in 9/11 and firefighters and what not. And I thought that was a really strong moment for Donald Trump.

I think that Ted Cruz - he benefited from that in the short term, going into places like Iowa, which really the New York values did not resonate. I think he needs to be very, very specific now, right? So what Ted Cruz doesn't like are liberal New York City values. But that's not what some people might hear when he says "New York values." So I think he needs to be very clear about that. That he's not talking about New York values. He's talking about New York City liberal values. And I do think that Ted Cruz can pick off some delegates from congressional districts in upstate New York. But Trump is smart to hammer him over this.

BROWN: And I'm going to go back to Trump, but, Angela, I want to go to you on the Democratic side because there's this new poll out from McClatchy Marist poll. It shows that one in four Bernie Sanders supporters would not vote for Hillary if she's the nominee. How much of a sting is that for the Hillary camp, and a surprise? Because I feel like all along we've been saying, well, you know, the Democratic Party's more unified, you know, people are happy with either Bernie or Hillary. This tells a different story.

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it tells a different story, but it also tells you where we are in the campaign, right? We spent probably the first part of this show, of course, acknowledging that it's starting to heat up. You said that - calling it kind of a tougher - a tougher situation is an understatement. So we know that it's really starting to rev up. And I think that folks will change course and change their tone as it gets closer to the convention and it's clear who the winner will be.

I think the challenge that you have is when a Bernie Sanders goes and does a "New York Daily News" editorial and sounds - to me it sounded disqualifying and I'm neutral in this race. And then he turns and says that Hillary Clinton is not qualified. And it's hard to understand what he's saying, right? It sounds like he disagrees with her positions on things, but it hardly sounds like it's disqualifying. What is disqualifying is his "New York Daily News" editorial. And so it's - it put him in a pickle, to say the least, and I think that he's going to have a lot of defending to do. It's certainly not helpful for the Democrats at large.

BROWN: And Hillary Clinton really seized on that. RYE: That's right.

BROWN: Saying he was ill prepared. Of course he said that was not the case and went after her.

[12:10:02] RYE: He didn't even know he couldn't use a coin anymore on the metro - or the subway. And now, she, of course, is on the subway today. So she seized on it exactly.

BROWN: She is on the subway. She is on the subway.

RYE: Yes.

BROWN: I want to go back to Donald Trump because we've learned that Trump campaign staffers will be on Capitol Hill, meeting with Congress members and so forth. What is the ultimate goal, or is the Trump camp looking for more public endorsements? What do you hope to accomplish?

MILLER: We're in the phase right now of the campaign as we head towards 1,237 and head towards the convention, of trying to build relationships in Washington, D.C. In fact, one of the things that I'm doing is taking meetings in Washington, D.C., and trying to build those relationships. And one of the people who's going to be key in helping us do that is my former boss, Senator Jeff Sessions, who's already set up a lot of meetings that Donald Trump has attended and we're going to keep doing that.

BROWN: I want to ask about changes in the campaign structure because there has been some reporting that Corey Lewandowski's role has been scaled back and some other changes have been made. What's happening?

MILLER: Yes, those stories are all false and, you know, there's always -

BROWN: They're false. So his role has not been scaled back at all?

MILLER: Categorically false. There's always - anyone who've been in this town long enough knows that when you have to fill x number of stories a day in a certain magazine, you're going to find the most discredited source you can and try and do a story. That's what happens. This story's false.

BROWN: But - but - but -

MILLER: And what we're doing right now is adding new staff to help with the delegates, as that task continues to grow in size and in scope. As you add more states, you have more delegates you have to fight for, so that's why we're adding staff.

BROWN: But in the wake of, you know, losing Wisconsin and the controversy leading up to Wisconsin, it's not unusual to take a look at your campaign structure and say, what could we do differently and better? Is that not happening?

MILLER: It's never unusual to say, what can you do better? And every campaign, including ours, is always looking to say, what can we do better this week, this month, and so forth. And so one of the things that we are going to do is we've got such great feedback from his AIPAC speech, the American Israeli Political Action Committee, that we're doing to be doing more policy speeches. So that's one of the things you're going to be seeing in the days ahead.

BROWN: Matt, just quickly going back to the Democratic side. Hillary Clinton, we saw him there - her there in the masses. She's, you know, mingling in the Bronx, taking the train. Is this a smart, strategic move for her? Here's the video right here. Go ahead.

LEWIS: Oh, yes, absolutely, I think it is. Look, I think that - that Bernie Sanders is finishing strong. He's got momentum. I think that Sanders, if he could somehow knock out Hillary Clinton in New York, it would be devastating. And then maybe the super delegates would follow.

But Hillary Clinton is at her best when she's pushed against the wall. You know, when she - when she doesn't have a competition, she can become a bit flabby as a candidate, right? So not inspiring. But I think right now she's coming into her element. I think Hillary looks better today than I've seen her look in weeks.

BROWN: Very interesting. And just last quick question. Bernie Sanders said, if he wins Wisconsin and New York, that's going to pave the way for the White House for him. Do you think that?

LEWIS: Well, I don't - I don't think he can do it but he has to basically almost run the table and he has to be able to make a compelling argument that he has momentum, that Hillary cannot win a general election. That would get the super delegates to flip to him. So it's a very, very tall hurdle, but, you know, he's going to give her all he has in New York. He has to.

BROWN: Yes, he's already starting there.

Thanks so much, Stephen Miller, Angela Rye, Matt Lewis, really appreciate it.

And, by the way, tonight, Ted Cruz will join Erin Burnett live on "OutFront." That starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

And one week from today, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will go head-to-head in Brooklyn. You don't want to miss a CNN Democratic presidential debate next Thursday at 9:00 p.m., Eastern.

Well, more than two weeks after the terrorist bombings in Brussels, we have new pictures of the bomber who got away. After a break, the man in the dark hat walking the streets, hiding in plain sight, eluding capture for 16 days now. We'll be back.

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[12:17:35] BROWN: Breaking news in the Brussels terror attacks. They don't know where he is now, but police know where the third airport bombing suspect went in the immediate aftermath of that attack. They just released, take a look, these new series of video clips of that man right here. Watch him in the fishing hat and light-colored raincoat, leaving the airport after the attacks. And at one point, you can even see him jogging.

I had a chance to sit down with an exclusive interview with the head of the U.S. Terrorist Screening Center and I asked him about the Belgian investigation and America's attempts to share data with European governments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS PIEHOTA, DIRECTOR, TERRORIST SCREENING CENTER: It's concerning that our partners don't use all of our data. We provide them with tools. We provide them with support. And I would find it concerning that they don't use these tools to help screen for their own aviation security, maritime security, border screening, visas, things like that for travel. We find it concerning.

BROWN: We've now seen two ISIS terror attacks in Europe more recently (INAUDIBLE)

PIEHOTA: That (INAUDIBLE) caught them. Nothing's 100 percent full proof, I will tell you that.

BROWN: Did that information make its way into our watch lists? Did they - did they share information prior to those attacks about these people? I'm just trying to get a sense of how that work - would work.

PIEHOTA: We were aware of some of the people.

BROWN: We know of at least two bombers who were still on the run, possibly in Europe. How concerning is that to you that these could be people who might want to make it into the U.S.? They haven't been publicly identified.

PIEHOTA: It's very concerning. And that's where the awareness and the vigilance comes in. We rely on our partners to look for them, conduct investigations and operations that help us identify them.

BROWN: There's so many people leaving Europe to go to Syria to train unbeknownst to European officials, that then just come right back. I mean what's stopping them from making it into the U.S.?

PIEHOTA: We make sure that we know as much as we can. And we take that information and we use it the best we can to minimize threats to our communities. But we - we can't know everything all the time.

[12:20:13] BROWN: Let's talk about the migrant crisis because, you know, the U.S. is expected to take in tens of thousands of people over the next several years. Your job will be to ensure none of those people are terrorists and make it into the United States in collaboration with other intelligence partners. How sure are you that you will be 100 percent successful?

PIEHOTA: Nothing's 1000 percent. We will strive for the best we can. I'm pretty confident in us catching people who would try to come to this country for illicit purposes. But again, I can't say that we would be batting 1,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And I'm joined by our experts next for their reaction to that exclusive interview, plus how law enforcement will use this new video right here to try to track down the fugitive suspect in the Brussels attack.

We'll be right back. Stay with us.

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[12:25:28] BROWN: Breaking news in the war against ISIS. We have just learned that 300 people, workers and contractors at a cement company, were captured by ISIS-affiliated militants right outside of Damascus in Syria. Now, this is from a state-run Syrian Arab news agency. That agency is citing a source at Syria's ministry of industry. Right now they are believed to have 150 to 250 factory staffers that are missing. Of course, we'll stay on top of this story and bring you any updates as we get them.

In the meantime, let's get back to Belgium and that breaking news on the terror attack. We have some new video right here showing the path taken by the third airport suspect right after the attack. Joining me now to discuss, CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozer.

Kim, first to you. It's really striking to see this video. Pretty brazen of the attacker after the attacks to just be walking around for a couple of hours. But I imagine, even though he hasn't been identified by officials, this video could be a crucial clue in order - to track him down. How so?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Crucial in that they have an idea of where he was headed, how he was behaving. He knew enough about Belgian authorities and the chaos that would ensue after an attack that just by acting normal and walking to his next destination that he could likely get away. The authorities are asking for anyone who saw the raincoat that he apparently discarded, to turn that in, to look through their trash and see if they can find that, because that could lead to DNA evidence that would be useful. But the scary part is, he knew just what to do.

BROWN: Absolutely. This isn't - you could tell, this is someone who's - who's had some level of training or preparation before the attacks. And as Kimberly said, that rain jacket that was thrown away in the trash can, Tom, I imagine investigators want to find that for the DNA and fingerprints. That's how they were able to I.D. the other attackers in the airport and metro stop.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right, but it's not all that sophisticated. Every bank robber knows if they wear a trench coat and a hat in to do the bank robbery, when they walk out, get rid of it. So you see that in every movie. So that's not exactly like he went through some PhD program on how to be a terrorist.

BROWN: OK, well, that makes sense. Well, let's talk about the concern then of the fact that he hasn't been identified. Kimberly, you heard in the interview to director Chris Piehota of the Terrorist Screening Center that, you know, a big concern is that there are people who haven't been identified, who are ISIS terrorists, who could be from a visa waiver program and make their way into the U.S. and launch an attack.

DOZIER: Well, one of the issues is, as we've talked about, there's no standard terrorist database across Europe. And what you'd need to do to form something like that is for all those different European countries to come up with a uniform standard of evidence or what they would need to at least suspect someone enough to put them on that list and thereby possibly violate their civil liberties. We have enough trouble with that in this country. Think of it across 26 nations.

BROWN: And, Tom, I'm going to get to you in a second on that, but you look at this specific example in the Brussels attacks where one of the brothers, you know, was deported from Turkey. Turkey said it passed on information. The Belgians say, we were just given a name, no info. If there was a central database like there is in the United States, the terror watch list, there would have been a profile. But their - such a thing doesn't exist, right?

DOZIER: But there also would have been a standard procedure to follow. The Dutch government actually published the piece of paper that the Turks had sent, the so-called warning. All it had was his name. It didn't have something attached to it like, he is suspected of traveling to Syria, et cetera. You're going to have to come up with some sort of a form that everyone fills out. And that's where I would turn to Tom and say, what do they have?

BROWN: And why don't they take more advantage of our terror watch list that do have that critical information about suspected terrorists?

FUENTES: Well, they have a number of problems. And they actually go back to World War II. The law enforcement in Europe was neutered after World War II to prevent another gestapo. So as a result, they have extreme limitations on what data they can hold, how long they can hold it, based on privacy, and when they - and they have to destroy these files if they don't go active for a couple of years. So if somebody gets convicted of terrorism, goes to prison, when they get out, there may be no file on that person. It goes back to their previous activity of their whole life, unlike the U.S., where we would hold that. We would have that data.

[12:29:59]: Secondly, my last five years in the bureau, I was on the board of Interpol. I had agents that worked for me, assigned to Interpol in Leon (ph), France, assigned to Europole (ph) in The Hague and the other problem is that they don't have the capacity to move classified information --