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Trump's Butler Under Investigation for Threats Against Obama; Trump Says He'll Release Taxes Once Audit Is Done; White House Directive on Transgender Bathrooms; ISIS Declares State of Emergency; Bin Laden's Son Calls For Attacks On U.S., Israel; Former Senator: Time To Reopen 9/11 Inquiry; Agency Hiring 768 More Officers To Handle Long Lines. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired May 14, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, it's 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, thanks so much for joining me in the NEWSROOM.

We begin with a fractured Republican Party as it struggles to get behind its presumptive nominee, and Donald Trump is not making it easy for the GOP. Trump's refusal to release his tax returns just one of the many problems facing the presidential candidate, or is it a problem?

Hillary Clinton, in the meantime, releasing a powerful new video today criticizing Trump and his tax funds. This week also brought other bizarre revelations, particularly for Donald Trump allegedly posing as his own publicist years ago as the presidential candidate denies that that's his voice on the audio tapes.

Trump's former butler also under investigation for threats against President Obama, all of these as Trump tries to rally the GOP establishment to finally embrace him.

CNN's Victor Blackwell has more on Trump's rather strange week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump taking a hit from Hillary Clinton in a new video that asks, why won't he release his taxes?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's none of your business.

BLACKWELL: But the billionaire, he's not budging.

TRUMP: When the audit ends, I'm going to present them. That should be before the election. I hope it's before the election.

BLACKWELL: Sounding downright defiant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your tax rate? TRUMP: It's none of your business. You'll see it when I release, but

I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible.

BLACKWELL: He's not required to release his taxes, but.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Mr. Trump has got to make a decision sooner rather than later about whether or not to release his tax returns.

BLACKWELL: Then, there's this voice from the past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name again?

JOHN MILLER, TRUMP'S P.R. AGENT: John Miller.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you work with (inaudible)?

MILLER: Yes, that's correct.

BLACKWELL: That sounds a lot like a voice from the present.

TRUMP: And we're going to start winning, winning, winning.

BLACKWELL: What do you hear? Trump dodged by questions about whether he had posed as imaginary staffers to deal with reporter's questions about his love life and his personal drama.

Listen to this PEOPLE Magazine interview uncovered by the Washington Post about his breakup with Marla Maples.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can I comment is coming from, you know, your agency or from Donald.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's just that he really decided that he wasn't, you know, he didn't want to make (inaudible), didn't want to make a commitment. He really thought it was too soon. He's coming out of a, you know, a marriage that he's starting to do tremendously well financially.

BLACKWELL: Trump has admitted to using a pseudonym in the past but he says the voice on that call was not his.

TRUMP: No, I don't think it -- I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time and it doesn't sound like my voice at all. I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice and you can imagine that. And this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams. Doesn't sound like me.

BLACKWELL: But there is some evidence that the presumptive GOP nominee is settling in as a party leader. When his former long-time butler argued on Facebook that President Obama, "Should have been taken out by our military and shot as an enemy agent," team Trump acted fast to say, "We totally and completely disavow the horrible statements by him regarding the President."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Donald Trump did the right thing by disavowing that statement and distancing himself from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And let's talk more about this. Joining me right now from Washington, CNN Correspondent Scott McLean.

So, Scott, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton has been officially named their party's nominee, but both candidates have already pivoted to the general election launching these rather tough attacks. So, will this kind of Clinton web video potentially resonate?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, clearly, Hillary Clinton is itching to challenge Donald Trump head-on despite the fact that she's still has yet to officially clinch her own party's nomination.

Now, her strategy lately has been to largely ignore Bernie Sanders and instead pivot to the general election continuing to hit Trump on his Muslim ban, his tax plan and now this web video on the tax returns Trump has yet to release because he says he's under IRS audit.

Now, it's interesting to point out, though, that Clinton had yet to attack Trump on his tax returns until Wednesday. At a rally in New Jersey, someone shouted something about those tax returns and Clinton took the bait. She is more than happy to point out that she and her husband have released decades of returns publicly. And on the flipside, Donald Trump has had no problem going after Clinton, calling her crooked Hillary and an enabler when it comes to her husband's sexual impropriety in the '90s.

[11:05:02] Now, while Hillary still has some work to do as she tries to clinch the Democratic nomination, Trump has a big task in trying to unify his own party. These latest controversies probably don't help him in that department, but the attacks from Clinton likely do.

WHITFIELD: And Rust Belt is shaping up to be a real key battleground recent polls showing Clinton and Trump are neck and neck in several states that have been solidly Democrat. So, what is each side tasked to do at this point?

MCLEAN: You know, well, Fredricka, the Rust Belt is expected to be a major focus in the general election, assuming it is Clinton and Trump facing off coming up in November. We know Trump has done well with voters in that region during the primaries. CNN has reported Clinton has already topped some state directors and field organizers in some of those states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Now, Clinton aides have acknowledged there will be a competitive fight in the Rust Belt because of Trump's populist appeal. Whoever can convince voters they have the best answer to solving the economic problems facing that region probably will end up winning since this is an area whose prosperity has really lagged compared to the rest of the country.

Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right, Scott Mclean, thank you so much. Appreciate

that.

All right, so it's been a rather eventful week for Trump. Let's talk about that with our political panel right now, Jason Johnson is the political editor for root.com. Lanhee Chen is the former public policy director for Mitt Romney and a former senior adviser to Marco Rubio.

All right, good to see both of you.

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR ROOT.COM.: Glad to be here, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, how about -- because a lot of people are still trying to determine, is this John Miller, is this Donald Trump? Let's listen to this comparison of the voices, the recorded one and the voice that we've come accustomed to hearing over the past, what, year or so?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you this.

TRUMP: I can tell you this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's probably doing as well as anybody ...

TRUMP: I know politics as well as anybody.

I hold up the bible as well as anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understand that.

TRUMP: You understand that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's starting to do tremendously well.

TRUMP: She did tremendously well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He paid his wife a quite deal of money.

TRUMP: You will see a great deal of cooperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so Jason, you first. Donald Trump saying that's not me. He said that on the TODAY show at NBC when that recording was played.

What if -- what if other measures are taken and it is determined that is indeed the voice of Donald Trump posing as John Miller. What does this do to his campaign?

JOHNSON: I don't think much, Fred. I mean, like, so we find out that Donald Trump lied about something 25 years ago. I don't care as a voter. I don't think most Democrats care, I don't think most Republicans care, I don't think most independents care.

I think, like, Anthony Senecal is more important, the idea that Donald Trump got on the air or talk to different reporters and try to make insult, well, that I don't see how that is a substantive issue as far as whether or not he would end up being a good president of the United States.

WHITFIELD: Is it what happened potentially 25 years ago, or is it how he just handled it this week? Because if it turns out it's indeed his voice, and he's saying outright, "It's not me", but if it turns out it is him, it's not what happened 25 years ago, it's just a few days ago when he's close to being a presumptive nominee, he may not have been truthful, if it turns out that is indeed him.

JOHNSON: Right. But here's the thing, is this the first, second or even 25th time that Donald Trump has lied? No, it's not. He lies all the time. He lies about his policy positions, he lies about what he said about women, he lies about whether or not he knew the Klan was a terrorist organization. There's lots of things he lies about.

I think to a certain extent while this speaks to his character, I don't think it's a game changer in the campaign. And I really think it's the kind of thing that he appreciates because his supporters will say it's just funny and I think we're putting too much focus on something that's really just a reflection of a guy who's always demonstrated he's a self-promoter.

WHITFIELD: And so, Lanhee, do you think this is a distraction and unimportant?

LANHEE CHEN, FMR. PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR FOR MITT ROMNEY AND FMR. SENIOR ADVISER TO MARCO RUBIO: You know, Fredricka, I think there are two issues here. That the first problem for Donald Trump is that he is one of these people that's out there saying, "Look, I just tell it like it is, I am somebody who's a straight shooter."

To the extent that this is yet another incident that goes against that image he's put out there for himself, it could be a problem in the long run. I agree with Jason. This specific incident probably most people laugh about it and think, "Well, that's a little weird, that's a little strange but that's just Trump being Trump." At the end of the day, though, there is this bigger problem about the image that he's forming for himself.

The second issue, which is something -- somewhat unrelated is whether Hillary Clinton is the best one to prosecute on this issue. And I think that's a problem that she's going to have as we go forward. Because look, she herself is damaged, she's perceived by a lot of people as being disingenuous or dishonest. And so, one has to ask whether she is going to be in a position to do it. Remember, she hasn't released the transcripts from the speeches she's given in her time and private life. That is a similar issue, although she has put out her tax returns.

So we'll see how this develops. But she's not exactly the perfect messenger on this. WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk a little bit on that. Is that a similar

issue, if it's not a requirement for a presidential candidate or nominee to release their tax returns but it's become customary over, you know, some 30 years that candidates do so, and it's not a requirement that she or any other candidate release the transcript of their speeches, but in this case, because there are big dollars.

[11:10:15] JOHNSON: Right.

WHITFIELD: Then, what are we talking about here? That if it doesn't matter for one, then should it matter for either?

JOHNSON: Well, Fred, I think tax returns are very different.

WHITFIELD: And I'm talking from a voter standpoint, if it doesn't seem to matter to a voter for one, then why for both?

JOHNSON: Because it's about what kind of honesty you're going to demonstrate. And it's about sort of standards and norms.

Look, you don't have to bring a bottle of wine to a dinner party either but if you don't, people think you're a jerk, right? And it seems -- so I think if everybody releases their tax returns, then you're supposed to release your tax returns. And if you don't, people think you've got something to hide. If Mitt Romney was willing to do it and Hillary Clinton has done it for 25 years, why hasn't Donald Trump?

WHITFIELD: So then, Lanhee, equally, does it say a lot about you the candidate that you wouldn't reveal this versus what, you know, take the chance and go ahead and reveal and let the, you know, chips fall as they may?

CHEN: Clearly, there is some issue here, right? Because if you were just going to get them out there anyway, you better off getting them out now rather than in September or October. I think from the perspective of the Republican Party, it's very important that the presumptive nominee be able to demonstrate a certain amount of transparency now as opposed during September or October when it could frankly torpedo his campaign.

So the issue is a tactical one, but it's also a larger one about potentially what he is hiding and it allows the Hillary Clinton campaign to ask all these questions. There may be nothing there, there may be a lot there. But the point is why not get it out now rather than later?

WHITFIELD: And that remain conversations about a potential third- party run as it pertains to the Republican Party and Mitt Romney's name continues to come up.

Jason, reasonable, realistic?

JOHNSON: I think it would be a very bad idea. I don't think anyone -- look, Mitt Romney lost before. Mitt Romney will lose again. If you told me that Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney were going to run as a third-party ticket, then maybe some actions guy, I might put some money on that one.

But Mitt Romney himself, I don't see how he's going to galvanize anybody. He would guarantee that the Republicans lose the White House in the fall and he would guarantee that they'll lose some Senate seats. I think that would be a terrible idea for him.

WHITFIELD: Lanhee.

CHEN: Well, look, I think there's a lot of people who have expressed that they have concerns about Donald Trump, whether it's because of his policy positions, his temperament or otherwise. And I think that's why you continue to hear these discussions.

At the end the day, there's going to be some percentage of Republicans who decide, "You know what, I'm going to stay home", or, "You know what, maybe I'll support somebody else." I think what an independent move does is it gives voice to those people potentially.

However, it is unlikely, I think, at this point because we are so far down the road.

JOHNSON: Right.

CHEN: And it looks like Trump is going to be the presumptive nominee. So it is what it is.

WHITFIELD: So far down the road. Six months to go. Boy, I remember that phrase maybe a year and a half ago and, look, we are here. It is right at our footsteps now.

All right, thank you so much, Lanhee Chen and Jason Johnson. Appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thanks, Fred.

CHEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so people are still trying to figure out, is that the voice of Donald Trump, is John Miller? Well, one person says emphatically it is not Donald Trump on the tape. His long-time friend and former business executive, Louise Sunshine, perhaps even read about her in the "Art of the Deal".

Well, I had an opportunity to sit down for an exclusive interview with her in Miami, and I got her reaction to this audio tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOUISE SUNSHINE, TRUMP'S FORMER BUSINESS EXECUTIVE: Not the Donald I know.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

SUNSHINE: I just didn't hear his voice, not the voice that resonates in my ears.

WHITFIELD: So describe the Donald Trump that you know.

SUNSHINE: The Donald Trump that I know is a very skilled, intelligent, incredibly determined, very successful, very charming, brilliant businessman, marketer. And, to me, a very loyal friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's Louise Sunshine. She knows him well, worked with Donald Trump for 16 years.

Stay with CNN, we'll have more from our interview next hour.

Plus, we'll release a big portion of that interview next weekend.

All right, still ahead, anger continues to grow as lines at airports get longer and longer. Plus, the controversy over the Obama Administration requesting public schools allow transgender bathrooms.

Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:17:53] WHITFIELD: A growing outrage from school districts and state officials at new guidelines from the Obama Administration over how transgender students should be treated in public schools.

The directives say districts should allow transgender students to use restrooms or locker rooms based on gender to which they identify.

Well, that's drawn some fiery criticism and cries of government overreach.

We're joined now by CNN's Nick Valencia. So, these are guidelines, they're not laws, but that's not stopping some states from expressing their sentiment about this.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, the feds are calling them guidelines. They really read more as a warning, do this or else you won't get federal funding. This is the most that we've heard from the federal government since this issue became a national conversation back in March when North Carolina passed House Bill 2, that law, of course, saying that transgender people must use the bathroom related to the gender on their birth certificate, not how they identify.

Now, this letter from the Department of Justice and Department of Education about what transgender students should be able to do in public schools. Already though, as Fred mentioned, you're seeing governors saying their school districts aren't going to follow these new guidelines, and if they don't, they risk losing federal money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R), TEXAS: We will not yield to blackmail from the President of the United States.

VALENCIA: The federal government calls them guidelines but several states, including Texas, see them more as a threat.

PATRICK: This goes against the values of so many people. It has nothing to do with anyone being against the transgender child.

VALENCIA: At a Friday morning press conference, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says, a line has been crossed by the federal government after the Department of Justice sent a letter on transgender bathroom use in public schools across the United States.

PATRICK: I'm telling all the superintendents in Texas right now, you have about three weeks left of the school year. Do not enact this policy.

VALENCIA: In the letter, Attorney General Loretta Lynch writes, there is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex. Under the guidelines, public schools that receive federal money are obligated to treat students consistent with their gender identity, even if their records indicate a different sex.

[11:20:07] Access sex segregated facilities consistent with a student's gender identity and protect a student's privacy related to their transgender status.

The action sets the stage for a legal battle that's been in the making since March. House Bill 2 in North Carolina began the recent controversy. The law requires trans people to use the public restroom related to the gender on their birth certificate, not how they identify.

CANDIS COX, TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST: You're really cute. You look ...

VALENCIA: Candis Cox has been one of the most outspoken against the law. She's a transgender woman and has met with the North Carolina governor.

COX: The fact that we are not talking about transgender people and who they are, but rather we don't want someone who looks like a man or looks like a woman but identifies as the opposite gender, it lets me know that we're still discriminating on esthetics.

VALENCIA: North Carolina and the feds have traded accusations and lawsuits. Some states, including Arkansas and Texas, insist there's been government overreach. The feds say, civil rights have been violated.

GOV. PAT MCCRORY (R), NORTH CAROLINA: This is not just a North Carolina issue. This is now a national issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Certainly is a national issue, and we heard more from Governor Pat McCrory late Friday. He issued a statement that read in part, "Most Americans, including this governor, believe that government is searching for a solution to a problem that has yet to be defined. Now, both the federal courts and the U.S. Congress must intercede to stop this massive executive branch overreach which clearly oversteps constitutional authority."

So you have people on the Christian right, conservatives, who are saying that we're making exceptions for a very small group of people, according to United Nations, 15 million transgender people worldwide. There are rough estimates that put about 700,000 and 900,000 in the United States. So you have one side saying, "We're making exceptions for a very small group." And you have people in the transgender community and what they tell us is, "What exceptions? What are you saying? What exceptions are you making for us? You're looking at us and judging us on a physical level not who we are as people."

So this is a conversation, it's long going and a controversy that's just warming up, Fred.

WHITFIELD: It is indeed. All right, thank you so much ...

VALENCIA: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Nick Valencia.

VALENCIA: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead, a state of emergency in Syria. According to ISIS, U.S. military carefully monitoring the situation, ISIS saying today, their self-declared capital may soon come under siege.

Next, details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:26:18] WHITFIELD: All right, we're following new developments out of Syria where the terror group ISIS appears to have declared a state of emergency. The Pentagon says it's seeing new evidence of ISIS fighters being scrambled inside its self-declared capital of Raqqa, possibly preparing for a siege.

This comes after U.S.-backed forces have started to surround the city in recent months helping cut off supply lines.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr explains.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: U.S. military officials have been closely monitoring social media and other reports that ISIS has declared a state of emergency in Raqqa, its self-declared capital inside Syria, that's a city that ISIS holds very dear. They've been in control of it for some time.

So what is this state of emergency really mean? U.S. officials saying they have some evidence showing ISIS fighters are moving around in the city, some of them trying to leave the city, that they're putting up cover, shades, trying to cover sidewalks, areas where they may be, all to try and stay hidden from potential air strikes or ground action.

ISIS may, in fact, be getting nervous in Raqqa. They have seen militia movements move closer and closer, some of the areas surrounding Raqqa now not necessarily under ISIS control. All of this making the group, maybe for the first time, very nervous about being able to hold on to the city that they consider their capital.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

WHITFIELD: All right, more on that later. "It's none of your business," that is what Donald Trump is telling critics who are demanding a release of his tax returns. Will this hinder his chances in November or help? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:31:03] WHITFIELD: All right, Donald Trump is coming under increasing pressure to release his tax returns, but he made it clear in an interview on ABC voters don't have a right to see his returns and he isn't releasing anything until an IRS audit is complete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Just a routine audit. I want to get through the audit first and that's what I'll do. There have been many presidents that have not shown their tax returns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually every single nominee since 1976 has released their tax returns.

TRUMP: Right. But before 1976 people didn't do it. It used to be a secret thing. I don't want it to be secret, but I want the audit to get finished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the tax rate?

TRUMP: It's none of your business. You'll see it when I release, but I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The IRS cannot discuss individual tax returns, but said in a statement, quote, "nothing prevents individuals from sharing their own tax information."

I want to bring back, Lanhee Chen. He is a former Mitt Romney public policy director and teaches at Stanford University. So good to see you again.

So Romney has been outspoken and a critic of Donald Trump, arguing not releasing taxes is, as he puts it, quote/unquote, "disqualifying" for a presidential candidate.

And remember, Mitt Romney himself, it took a bit of time from when the question was first ask about his tax returns before he finally did release them.

So why should people feel comfortable or confident that he should be the authority on whether Donald Trump should be releasing his taxes?

CHEN: Well, there's a couple of points here, Fredricka. The first thing is Governor Romney put out the initial batch of tax returns in January of 2012 before the Florida primary.

So that would have been the equivalent of about four months ago if we were looking comparing cycle to cycle. But the second issue is, you know, Governor Romney understands, he's been a major party nominee. He's been through this process.

He understands just how searing the spotlight is going to get for Donald Trump. I think the advice he's giving him is advice from one Republican to another, look, we don't want this being an issue in September or October so just get them out now and let's see what's in them.

WHITFIELD: What did he, Mitt Romney see and perhaps you because you were one of his advisers, see the value in releasing these returns particularly at this juncture as opposed to waiting until later?

Because Donald Trump has said, you know what, I'll release them once I'm in the White House, but that's obviously too late for many people. But what is the real star attribute as to why he should be releasing his taxes now?

CHEN: Well, look, I think there's a couple of things. First of all, you can determine a few important things by looking at tax returns, you can look at someone's tax rate, look at their income, how much they've given to charity.

We felt comfortable with all of those things and so we put out the tax returns when we did. We felt like it was important to get that out on the table.

We knew that the Obama campaign was going to use that against us in some way because that's what campaigns tend to do. With respect to Donald Trump, I guess the question is, is there something in those tax returns that he doesn't want people to see until later down the road.

I would argue that if there's something he doesn't want them to see down the road, he probably never wants people to see them. So look, I think if there is an opportunity for him to get them out there or at least get some information about them out there, he should do that just to quell some of the appetite or some of the pressure that's built on it.

WHITFIELD: And Hillary Clinton in her ad is seizing upon this saying that there must be something that Donald Trump is hiding if he doesn't want to release that information. Is that how you believe most voters will be seeing this?

CHEN: Well, I think it will be a common point of view. I think it's what they are trying to sell as their angle on this. But as I've said, look, Hillary Clinton herself is not exactly the paragon of disclosure. She hasn't told us what it is she's said in all of these private speeches that she's been paid the $100,000 apiece for. So she's got her own disclosure to think about.

[11:35:07]She has put out her tax returns, I get that, but there are still other elements of her that I think make her a compromised message deliverer when it comes to asking for tax returns.

WHITFIELD: So Trump's relationship with the GOP, you know, isn't quite chummy. So if the GOP feels that it is advantageous for the presumptive nominee to release this tax return information, does it have any leverage in which to pressure him, advise him that he needs to do that?

CHEN: I don't know about leverage, Fredricka, but they certainly can advise him and say, look, as a party we need to figure out what we're dealing with going into September and October in the stretch run.

So let's work together to figure out a way to get this information out in a way that is going to be helpful to the campaign, that's going to be helpful to the RNC because the last thing that anybody wants is an October surprise. We all know that. So it is important for that to be resolved sooner than later.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lahnee Chen, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

CHEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, some are calling him the crowned prince of al Qaeda. A chilling recording by the son of Osama Bin Laden. We'll tell you what he said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A chilling warning coming from the son of Osama Bin Laden. The so-called "crown prince of al Qaeda" is calling for new attacks on U.S. and Israel.

[11:40:03]The new audio message surfaced online and here is CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He has the name and perhaps the message al Qaeda needs to rejuvenate its foundering terror brand. Hamza (ph) Bin Laden, one of Osama Bin Laden's 11 sons for years had been missing, off the grid.

But now a new audio message released by the son of the 9/11 mastermind has U.S. officials concerned. The chilling recording discovered by the Site Intelligence Group calls on all jihadis to unite apparently including al Qaeda's rival, ISIS.

A key goal the young Bin Laden says should be to defeat the U.S. and Israel and, quote, "Liberate the Palestinian lands."

HAMZA BIN LADEN, OSAMA BIN LADEN'S SON (through translator): Those who support the Jews must pay the bill with their blood.

TODD: The younger Bin Laden is believed to be in his early to mid- 20s. A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN he has a relatively small role in al Qaeda now, but could be getting groomed for a leadership position. Analysts see Hamza as a sort of crown prince of the terror group.

THOMAS JOSCELYN, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: So they are saying this is the new generation of jihadi leadership. This is the new Bin Laden who is going to ultimately lead us in the future.

TODD: One U.S. official tells CNN this looks like an attempt by al Qaeda to fill gaps in its, quote, "ever dwindling bench." While the group has made gains in Syria, Yemen and North Africa, it has lost several top leaders and been eclipsed by ISIS in capturing the market share of young jihadists.

PETER BERGEN, AUTHOR, "UNITED STATES OF JIHAD": ISIS productions are a million times more interesting than al Qaeda's very boring, you know, audio messages with very low production values.

TODD: Did Osama Bin Laden want Hamza to succeed him? It's not clear. But experts say Hamza spent much of his youth at his father's side and was a true believer. Analyst, Peter Bergen, author of the new book, "United States of Jihad," says the Navy SEALs expected Hamza to be at the Abbottabad compound when they went in after Osama Bin Laden in 2011. But Hamza was not there.

BERGEN: In the last months of Osama Bin Laden's life, he was writing long memos about his son, Hamza, and the need to keep him safe, and you know, keep him away from the CIA drones.

TODD: Hamza Bin Laden's reemergence comes as new questions are being raised by al Qaeda's most spectacular attack and who was connected to it.

Declassified documents quietly released by the National Archives detailed the questioning by the 9/11 Commission of a former Saudi diplomat.

The document say the Saudi denied a connection to two 9/11 hijackers who had moved to California, but the commission investigators didn't believe him and confronted him with evidence of several phone calls he'd had with a man who had supported the hijackers.

At that point, the documents say the former Saudi diplomat grew angry and nervous.

(on camera): But there are still questions as to whether there's a real smoking gun with the Saudis and 9/11. One 9/11 Commission member tells CNN, he believes lower level Saudi officials should be investigated further.

But he stands by the commission's finding that no senior Saudi government officials supported al Qaeda. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, new questions are being raised over the possible involvement by Saudi officials in the 9/11 attacks. CNN talks to a former key senator who is pushing for the release of pages of documents, which he says will shed light on whether the Saudis were involved. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:47:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. There are new questions being raised over possible involvement by Saudi officials in the 9/11 attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were citizens of Saudi Arabia.

A member of the 9/11 inquiry told CNN this week that the final 28 pages of the congressional investigation report contained evidence of involvement by Saudi officials. Those pages remain classified.

President Barack Obama says he will make a decision on declassifying they will by next month. Former Florida Senator Bob Graham was co- chair of the inquiry and also headed the Senate Intelligence Committee.

And earlier this morning he spoke with our Michael Smerconish and was asked why he thinks the CIA is opposing the release of the 28 pages.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB GRAHAM, FORMER CO-CHAIRMAN 9/11 INQUIRY: Now I frankly think that the reasons primarily have to do with our -- the effect that this may have on our relationship with Saudi Arabia and the public perception of some of its intelligence agencies' competence because this relates to information that was developed before, during and immediately after 9/11.

And in some cases the American people will be surprised that their premiere intelligence agencies acted as incompetently as they appeared to have.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, "SMERCONISH": You wrote for the "Washington Post" this week and you said that release of the 28 pages might shed light on some outstanding questions, including this -- should we believe that the 19 hijackers, most of whom spoke little English, had limited education, had never before visited the United States, acted alone in perpetuating the sophisticated 9/11 plot? Do you, Senator Graham, believe they did not act alone?

GRAHAM: Of course, not. And no one who has studied this case closely thinks it's plausible that these 19 people who had all the characteristics you've just read could have completed the planning, gone through the practicing, executed the plot and over an extended period of time.

In the case of some a year and a half, were able to maintain their anonymity while they were in the United States. We haven't assumed that in Paris, in Brussels or San Bernardino. In fact, some of the first questions after the tragedies occurred was who helped these people do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in Bob Baer now. He is a CNN intelligence and security analyst, and a former CIA operative, and wrote a book on Saudi Arabia. All right, good to see you.

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So what do you believe might be in these 28 pages? Is it your belief that it will reveal that on some level the Saudi Arabian government may have been involved?

BAER: Well, Fred, I'd be stronger than Senator Graham. You look at the evidence that's been declassified and there is some, and there was extensive, official Saudi contact with the hijackers and the Hamburg cell, which organized this attack.

[11:50:09]There were money transfers from the Saudi Embassy. The consul met a Saudi agent before he met the hijackers when they landed in Los Angeles. I could go on and on.

What I can say, Fred, and I say this very categorically, I've seen the evidence against Hezbollah and Iran for terrorism and the evidence against Saudi Arabia involvement in 9/11 is equally as strong if not stronger. And I'm quite certain about that.

WHITFIELD: To what degree, do you believe?

BAER: How do you get 12 Saudi officials supporting these people? Giving them money? Calling them. Coordinating with them. And not having some sort of central control?

Yes, there's no evidence that the king of Saudi Arabia was involved in this, or the minister of intelligence or anybody else, but then, again, if you look at Hezbollah, there's no evidence that the head of Hezbollah is involved in terrorism. We just assume it.

I think this information, the data that's out there that the FBI has collected is damning and I think it should be released to the public, and I think we should make up our own minds if Saudi Arabia was involved 9/11 or not.

WHITFIELD: So do you think it's potentially damaging if this were declassified and made public, or do you believe that, whether it be this administration or potentially the next one, even by keeping it classified, knowing, if, indeed, it says something about Saudi Arabia's involvement, that that might change the dynamic of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia relations moving forward, even if the public doesn't know about the content of that 28 pages?

BAER: Absolutely, because the Saudis have never came clean. These people that helped the hijackers clearly lied in their r6 meetings to the 9/11 Commission report. They denied the calls with the hijackers and so on and so on.

So the Saudis have not cooperated. If we took this evidence and used it against the kingdom, it would seriously affect relationships.

And never mind a civil suit against Saudi Arabia, which is more and more likely by the day. Saudis have trillions of dollars in this country, which arguably could be given to the families.

WHITFIELD: So then, did you just answer the question of, if the 28 pages remained, you know, classified, then that information would not be public.

BAER: Exactly. Exactly. It wouldn't be public, and they don't want it in the hands of the families, because they don't want the families suing the country of Saudi Arabia, because it causes too many problems and would truly wreck our relationship with Saudi Arabia.

WHITFIELD: And the dependence of oil on Saudi Arabia, I mean, this is huge and a valuable relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. So, regardless of what's in, or I should say, despite what is in that 28 pages that relationship would need to continue?

BAER: Fred, it's already --

WHITFIELD: Uninterrupted?

BAER: Look, there's 55 percent of the world's oil reserves, it's in the gulf, under one way or another, Saudi control, OPEC control. And we're worried about that. And also, the kingdom is very fragile.

Could it take a serious questioning right now by the United States or by the families? I don't know. The place is a mess right now and the administration feels that we cannot take on Saudi Arabia on this today.

You know, I just can't tell you. But for me, I would like to see lights shown on this.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bob Baer, good to see you. Thanks so much.

All right, coming up, airport lines around the U.S. just keep growing, and so does the frustration. Look at those images right there. We'll take you live to LaGuardia right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:57:29]

WHITFIELD: The angry backlash from travelers fed up with longer than usual delays at airport security continues to grow today. And now the TSA is taking steps to combat those long lines.

CNN's Rachel Crane is at LaGuardia Airport in New York. So, Rachel, I was in the airport the last couple of days, at least Atlanta Airport in Miami, and in Atlanta, they had live music to kind of, you know, soothe people's frustrations. What are you seeing there at LaGuardia? RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here at LaGuardia, we have seen a steady stream of passengers, but the lines this morning, they're nothing like those lines we've seen in Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, where passengers have waited hours, just to get through security.

In fact, yesterday, in Dallas, American Airlines held five flights, because 77 passengers were not onboard when their planes were supposed to take off because of those lines.

Now, the TSA, they are aware of this problem and that's why they sped up the hiring of more than 750 new agents. Now, that's part of an $8 million initiative.

The problem, though, Fred, is that those agents don't come onboard before mid-June. And you know, with ticket prices dropping and fuel costs dropping, summer right around the corner, this problem, it's probably going to get worse before it gets better.

WHITFIELD: Some airports also taking matters into their own hands. Atlanta's Airport is actually experimenting with the so-called innovation lines. What does that mean?

CRANE: So those innovation lines is a joint program, between the TSA, the airport, and Delta. You know, Atlanta Airport, it is the most trafficked airport in the country. Last year, they had 100 million passengers come through the airport.

So what these lines do, they're much like the lines in London Heathrow's Airport, where they rely heavily on automation. And if a bag gets flagged for additional screening, it will automatically be put on to a conveyor belt. They won't have to stop the entire line.

And if, in fact, these innovation lines prove to be effective, you can bet that you'll be seeing more of them across the country in other airports -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Thank you so much, Rachel Crane. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it. We have so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it starts right now.

All right. Hello again, everyone, and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

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