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Clinton Faces Scrutiny for 1994 Crime Bill; Video Shows Girls Kidnapped by Boko Haram; New York Voters Sound Off on Dem Rivals; Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired April 14, 2016 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:26] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning from Brooklyn, the site of tonight's CNN Democratic debate. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me this morning.
The fight for the African-American vote is in full swing. Hillary Clinton is in clear leader right now, but Bernie Sanders is not giving up. He needs to broaden his base so critics say he's hitting below the belt calling on both Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton to apologize for then President Bill Clinton's 1994 crime bill, intimating that Hillary Clinton's use of the word super predator to describe juvenile criminals was a racially tinged.
Was it? Well, I covered crime back in the 1990s and it was a far different time. Crime was rampant and voters were pressuring politicians to do something about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): I covered the crime beat back in the 1990s in Columbus, Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes you don't even care.
COSTELLO (on camera): And sometimes you just don't care. That's exactly how violent kids are living their whole entire lives.
(Voice-over): I was talking about young people. In 1994 16 percent of all murders in Ohio were committed by juveniles. Columbus police told me kids were out of control and they took me on patrol to prove it.
There were problems in big cities, too, with gang violence, drugs and organized crime. "TIME" magazine's cover in 1990 read "The Rotting of the Big Apple." In 1990 alone there were 2,245 murders in the city.
It was against this backdrop that Hillary Clinton, then first lady, praised her husband's crime bill. A bill that put extra police officers on the streets and increased penalties for nonviolent offenders.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called super predators. No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way but first we have to bring them to heal. COSTELLO: Those words, though, have come back to haunt Hillary
Clinton.
CLINTON: We have to bring them to heel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want you to apologize for mass incarceration.
CLINTON: OK, we'll talk about --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not a super predator.
COSTELLO: Clinton has since apologized but Bernie Sanders is not about to let the subject drop.
TAD DEVINE, SENIOR MEDIA ADVISER, BERNIE 2016: What President Clinton did when he first got elected, what he did specifically and particularly in 1996 was to triangulate. That was their political approach. They were running ads about how tough they were on crime in Christian radio stations in the south while he was being reelected.
This was a political strategy. And the language they used at the time, frankly, should be apologized for.
COSTELLO: Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York City in the mid 1990s. He credits Clinton's crime bill along with state and local efforts for the decrease in crime.
(On camera): So should Hillary Clinton have apologized for using the term super predator back then?
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: What she should have said is you should thank my husband for all the lives that he saved. Bill Clinton is one of three or four or five people in America that saved more black lives than almost anybody I can think of except maybe --
COSTELLO: And you're saying that not particularly being a Clinton supporter.
GIULIANI: No. Bill Clinton saved thousands and thousands of black lives as I did, as Bill Bratton did, as Michael Bloomberg did. Because if we hadn't made those changes there's no reason why the 2200 murders or 1800 murders or whatever number we're talking, wouldn't have just continued, they had gone on for 30 years.
COSTELLO (voice-over): But it didn't. The New York City murder rate dropped 84 percent between 1990 and 2015. Thanks in part to the Clinton crime bill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: But that crime bill did have consequences. Critics argue tougher penalties for nonviolent offenders caused long prison sentences for minor crimes. The prison population soared. Black, Latino and low-income communities were disproportionately impacted. It's a fact President Clinton has acknowledged, but he's not apologized for it either.
Let's talk about this and separately what the crime problem is like in today's world. And I want to do that with Eric Adams who is the Brooklyn borough president and a former captain for the NYPD. And CNN political commentator and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, Angela Rye.
Welcome to you both.
ERIC ADAMS, BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. Angela, I want to start with you. This subject will probably come up in tonight's debate, and Bernie Sanders will probably hit Mrs. Clinton hard on it. Is it entirely fair of what -- well, let me ask it this way.
Should Hillary Clinton again apologize for using that term super predator and does it mean the same thing today as it did back then?
ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So Hillary Clinton has apologized for using the term super predator.
[10:35:02] I think the problem is it seemed a little disingenuous when her lead surrogate, Bill Clinton, was on the trail last week defending not only the term super predator but the crime bill as well as the welfare reform bill.
The issue that we have now is I would argue that there's never been a time for the term super predator to be used to talk about human beings. For me, while I wasn't here for slavery, it reminds me of a time when black people were deemed subhuman or less than human in some way or three-fifth human. So I think it's never OK to use that type of terminology when talking about a group of people even if they are leaning towards criminal activity.
You are -- we're in a situation today where if you are born black in this country, you have a 1 in 3 chance of spending time in prison. That is in part due to the crime bill. I would say no thank you to that crime bill. It has led to the problem of mass incarceration. And while it didn't create it, we also could argue frankly that crime began to diminish in 1992 which, of course preceded the crime bill.
COSTELLO: Well, the economy got great, right? So it's not just the crime bill that helped decrease this -- you know, the crime problem back in the '90s and you're right about that.
Eric, you've dealt with crime, right? You're a police officer and you're dealing with crime problems right now in Brooklyn. So what is it like today, you know, in contrast to what it was like in the '90s?
ADAMS: Well, I think that -- and I agree with Angela about the terminology and what we do and how we move forward. And now you're seeing the byproduct of the crime bill and the actions of that were taken previously. Countless number of communities have been left behind. And this was a golden opportunity for New York state because historically national politics, presidential politics, it doesn't play in New York. And I believe that's the byproduct of being left behind in communities throughout the city.
The Brownsvilles of America, I like to say, have been left behind because you didn't have to really focus on these communities and the recipients of those that were imprisoned, the lack of city services in state and national services, you're seeing the product of that, and they're the last crevices of Americans who we have left behind and need to bring forward.
COSTELLO: Yes. It's because -- you know, you throw people in prison for relatively minor crimes that means there's no education going forward, right? Because the money is going into incarceration and to more police on the streets and not educational programs, rehabilitation programs and things like that.
RYE: And Carol, you raised a great point. This country's criminal justice system was supposed to be about rehabilitation. And sometime a long time ago we decided to change gears to focus on punishment. And so I would argue, at what point do we start to look at rehabilitating people who made mistakes? Right? Whether you committed one crime or three. Of course we know that it also ushered for three strikes you're out laws. And not just on the federal level but it led the way for states to do the same thing.
At what point do you start to rehabilitate people and give them a real chance? Part of the issue with the crime bill is it never solved the real issues were, which were economic development opportunities in communities of color and low-income communities.
COSTELLO: At the same time for police officers, though, they need the power to be able to make arrests and clear the streets of criminals. So how do you balance that?
ADAMS: And it's an effective balance. And rehabilitation is not soft on crime.
RYE: That's right.
ADAMS: We need to be clear on that because it is communities of color who are recipients of crime patterns and crime waves and, you know, from the 22 years that I've policed, I saw many of those communities where there are good people who just wanted to provide a safe place for their families, but when you have bills that carry out this wide range of just grabbing innocent people also gets swept up like we saw here in New York, as Giuliani pointed out, he was one of the architects of stop and frisk.
Now these numbers of innocent people who were incarcerated due to living in communities where crime exists not for doing something of criminal nature. That's a problem.
COSTELLO: But what would you say to people who said but the crime rate dropped? So how can you argue that those methods weren't effective?
ADAMS: And I like that because many people, I'm borrowing from Jack Nicholson's statement, knew what was happening in the inner city and said we really don't want to know what happened. We ignored the fact that young boys who again did nothing wrong at all, merely because they lived in the Brownsville and because of their skin pigmentation, they were incarcerated. That is wrong. And that is not the America that we should be about.
You can have good quality policing which I believe in. Good quality policing without affecting or impacting the innocent people in the community because they too are the victims of those crimes.
COSTELLO: I have to leave it there. I could go on with this forever. Thank you so much.
ADAMS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you for being here, Eric Adams and Angela Rye.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, some two years after they were kidnapped by the terror group Boko Haram, a new video brings hope and anguish to the families of hundreds of missing Nigerian girls.
[10:40:11]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This morning in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja people took to the streets to mark two years since more than 200 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Their abduction sparking an international call for their return and inspiring the hash tag bringbackourgirls. Some 57 girls escaped while another 219 remain missing.
Now a new video released by the terrorist group and provided to the Nigerian government shows some of those girls are still alive.
CNN's Nima Elbagir, Stephanie Busari, and Sebastiaan Knoops shared those images with the mothers of the missing in this exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[10:45:07] NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lined up against a yellow wall, 15 girls, only their faces showing. An off-camera voice asked each girl, what's your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ELBAGIR: "Is that the name your parents recognize? Where were you taken from," the voice asks. "Chibok school." And the date, they say, is the 25th of December, 2015.
This video was obtained by CNN from a person close to the negotiations to get these girls released. For the parents, it's finally a glimmer of hope these girls are still alive.
Two years ago, we met Mary Ishaya, Rifkatu Ayuba, Yana Galang on our visit to Chibok after the abduction of their daughters and more than 200 other girls. We asked them if they recognized any of the girls in the video.
They lean closer. Another girl is identified, Hawa (PH). One by one, they name all 15 girls. But one mother, Yala (PH), realizes her daughter isn't there.
The off-camera voice asking the questions is familiar to CNN as that of Boko Haram spokesperson, Abu Zinara. A source close to the negotiations between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government said the video was provided by the terror group as an asked for show of good faith. Nigeria's information minister told CNN they have received the video but are still reviewing it.
LAI MOHAMMED, NIGERIAN INFORMATION MINISTER: If you study the video you find out the questions were asked in a very controlled environment. I'm a bit concerned, too, that after two years in captivity, the girls in the video were under no stress whatsoever. There's been little transformation to their physical appearance.
ELBAGIR (on camera): Is your government negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of these girls?
MOHAMMED: There are ongoing talks. We cannot ignore offers. We can't ignore leads. Of course, many of these investigations are, you know, are not -- cannot be disclosed at all because they could also endanger, you know, the negotiation.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): We took the video to a classmate of the Chibok girls. She'd been at home with family the day the other girls were kidnapped. For her safety, we're not showing her face, and not using her name. She told us there's no doubt these are some of her kidnapped classmates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): These two were prefects. Watching the video, I'm reminded of how we used to play together, how we used to do chores, do our homework.
ELBAGIR: She says seeing her friends again will likely give her nightmares.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): Sometimes still, if I hear news about them, I have bad dreams and I wake up crying.
ELBAGIR: The video ends with a girl addressing the camera with a message to the Nigerian government. "We are all well," she said pointedly, perhaps suggesting girls not seen in this video. She then delivers what sounds like a scripted plea, urging the Nigerian to fulfill unspecified promises.
For the mothers of these girls rapidly becoming women far from home, the video is overwhelming. They say they just want someone to bring their daughters home.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Wow. CNN's Nima Elbagir and Stephanie Busari are hosting a Facebook chat about this heartbreaking story. That will happen today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Please go to facebook.com/CNNi. Please help. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:53:22] COSTELLO: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been trying to out-New York each other for weeks now. But what's really resonating with voters?
CNN's Chris Moody is at a coffee shop in Brooklyn this morning. Hi, Chris.
CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. New York is going to be the epicenter of politics for the next week. What better place to talk about it than in a coffee shop. We're at the Brooklyn Roasting Company. We're talking to Sam, she's an undecided voter.
What do you think about this election? You said you were up between Hillary and Bernie. What about Hillary Clinton? What do you think of her?
SAM, UNDECIDED NEW YORK VOTER: I like her a lot of her record and her experience, and as far as Bernie goes, I like a lot of the issues he's bringing to the forefront like income inequality. So I'm just -- I'd be happy to see either elected so I'm just kind of weighing options right now.
MOODY: And we're having a big debate tonight here on CNN. You're going to watch this debate possibly.
SAM: Yes.
MOODY: How are you leaning?
SAM: Honestly, it's kind of day today I lean a little bit differently. Right now I'm a little bit more on the Bernie side of things, but it depends.
MOODY: And Dalia, when you're watching this race, which one candidate resonates more with you as a New Yorker?
DALIA JURGENSEN, PASTRY CHEF AND INSTRUCTOR: Absolutely Bernie Sanders.
MOODY: Why is that?
JURGENSEN: I think he is really the only one who's talking about the tissues and talking about them from the perspective of what is right and what is wrong. And I think that needs to happen more and his base issue of living wage is I think one of the most important that can lift everyone else up.
MOODY: Thank you both so much. We're going to be here at the coffee shop all day talking to voters
and we'll be watching for the debate tonight on CNN -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Very interesting. And thanks to both of those young women. Thanks so much, Chris Moody.
And thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. Up next, Berman and Bolduan.
[10:55:02]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Paying for attention. That could drive America down into a ditch.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're acting like union boss thugs.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The system, folks, is rigged.
REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: It is not the case. The rules have been set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The battle in Brooklyn just hours away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Under the bright spotlight and scrutiny here in New York, Senator Sanders has had trouble answering questions.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe we're going to win here in New York City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Hello, everyone. I'm John Berman.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm Kate Bolduan and it is debate day in America, or you could also say fight night in New York.
We are live at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the site of tonight's Democratic debate right here on CNN. You're looking right now at live pictures of where tonight's action is all going to take place, the final faceoff for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders before --
(END)
