Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Texts Show Turner Lied About Drug Use; Christina Grimmie Shot Dead; Clinton Donor Winds Up on Sensitive Government Advisory Board; Police Release Photo of Man Who Shot Christina Grimmie. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 11, 2016 - 16:00   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime, new revelations about just what was revealed inside that courtroom in the trial that has captivated and outraged the country. The 20-year-old former Stanford University student convicted of sexually assaulting a woman near an on-campus fraternity house describing himself as a decent guy from a small town in Ohio who "had never, quote, really experienced celebrating or partying when it came to alcohol and drugs."

This revealed in a letter written by Turner to the probation officer who presided over this case. Well, the judge ended up giving him a six-month jail sentence but was the statement Turner gave true? Was he really new to the world of drugs and alcohol and partying? According to prosecutors, that answer is no.

Joining me now, Brynn Gingras live from Turner's hometown of Oakland, Ohio, and CNN's Sara Sidner, she is at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. So first of all, Sara, did Brock Turner lie to the judge, bottom line when it comes to his alcohol use?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It appear he does looking at the court documents where he talked to the judge about him being from that small town in Ohio and that he wasn't really used to the alcohol- fueled partying culture that exists here on the Stanford campus. But prosecutors showed evidence on his own phone, on his cell phone, showing text messages where he's asking about pot and he's talking about doing acid before he showed up on Stanford's campus and after.

There are pictures that they have found on his phone of a bong. There's a picture of him smoking what they call dabs, which is a very highly concentrated potent form of marijuana. So the prosecutor's point to the judge was, "look, you have someone here with making him seem one way when indeed he was another. He deserves at least six years in prison." But he did not get that. The judge decided, looked over all the evidence, and said, "no, I made a resuming that he gets six months and by the way, he will only spend three months in jail because California law when you send someone to county jail you only do 50 percent of the time, Pamela?

BROWN: And just on that note, Sara, his release date is actually in September, is that right? That is not six months.

SIDNER: That's right. September 2nd. He will only serve three months of his time. And also Pamela, there's another thing that really has gotten people ginned up here and that is a few more details that have come up in this particular document. And what the document from the prosecution says is that someone was standing over the victim with their cell phone and the light was on. They don't know if it was a flash because he was taking a picture or if he was just using a flashlight. But there is a text that talks about a breast in it sent to Brock Turner from a friend saying, who is - whose breast is that in the picture? A lot of folks looking at that and wondering if there's a picture out there of the victim.

BROWN: All right. I want to turn now to Brynn Gingras in, she joins us now from Turner's hometown of Oakwood, Ohio. So tell us more about this letter from the mom to the court, Brynn, and how is the town reacting?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, remember this is one letter of many that was submitted in court during the sentencing phase of this trial. And they all sort of serve the same purpose, right, was to get leniency for Brock Turner.

So the mother's purpose was exactly the same. She basically told the judge it would be a death sentence if her son went to jail or prison for a very long time. But I want to point out a certain section of her letter because it does talk about his upbringing and the response to his upbringing here in Oakwood, Ohio.

Cathleen Turner writes in that letter, that's four pages long, she says, there have been many references to Brock being from a wealthy, privileged background and he thinks he's entitled. Your honor, this could not be further from the truth. We do not come from money rather the opposite. Dan and I are a working middle class couple with Midwestern values. Trust me when I say Silicon Valley, California, is vastly different from the south suburbs of Dayton, Ohio.

We've had a chance to spend some time here in Oakwood, Ohio. We've talked to people who are city employees. We've talked to city officials and we've talked to residents of this town. And generally speaking most people have said, you know, this happened in California. It has nothing to do with Oakwood, Ohio, somewhat separating themselves from this story in its entirety.

One woman did make a comment specifically to the letters that were written from family, friends, Brock's father, his mother, she said, really, those letters have no bearing on my opinion on what's happened. She said basically, it doesn't matter where he came from, it doesn't matter the way he was raised, the fact is he committed a crime, Pamela.

BROWN: And did the mother acknowledge the rape victim at all in her letter?

GINGRAS: Pamela, I missed that question. Sorry. There's a lot of traffic on this street.

BROWN: I understand. We read the father's letter that caused so much outrage across the country. Calling it 20 minutes of action, the fact that his son doesn't want to eat rib-eye steaks. Did the mom address the rape victim at all in her letter to the court?

[16:05:06]

GINGRAS: She did not essentially address the actual rape victim. Again, this was primarily just about Brock, telling the judge what her son was like growing up and possibly what came to the fact of this happening. But yes, she did not mention the victim at all in that letter.

BROWN: All right, Brynn and Sara, thank you so much for bringing us that reporting. We do appreciate this.

There has been a massive public outcry following the six month jail sentence given to Brock Turner. Online petitions to remove Judge Aaron Persky have garnered more than a million signatures. Publicity over the case is also reportedly affecting jury selection in the judge's courtroom. One attorney with a case before the judge said about 20 jurors were excused because they felt uncomfortable in his courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH ROBLES, JR., ATTORNEY IN CASE BEFORE JUDGE PERSKY: It sort of definitely has some sort of impact, brought it up how it affected them, how it affected their lives, how it could affect their judgment really is what we were getting at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And there's even dissent from inside Stanford with one law professor spearheading the effort to have this judge recalled. That professor joins me now, Michelle Landis Dawber, thanks so much for coming on and talking with us.

I want to get straight to it. What is it about this case that has angered you so much and on what legal grounds might this judge Aaron Persky be subject to a recall?

MICHELLE LANDIS DAUBER, STANFORD LAW PROFESSOR: So I think what's so unfortunate about this case is that the judge really bent over backwards in order to give this young man, Mr. Turner, a very lenient sentence. The minimum sentence under California law for his crime was two years, which is already a fairly short sentence by most standards for three sex crime felonies. And he did not even get that.

BROWN: And his side, the judge's side, looks at there's these factors that you can take into consideration when you're deciding a sentence. But you are right, it is under the two year minimum, the two year minimum, we have a legal analyst here at CNN Danny Cevalos who wrote this op-ed that said, "yes, this is an unusually light sentence. However, it is legal. And bringing down a judge with petitions, impeachment drives sets a dangerous precedent." He says in his op-ed, "if judges can be brought down for correctly applying the law, then ultimately who ends up doing the judging?"

I just want your thoughts on that, professor. DAUBER: So I do have two reactions to that. First of all, I do not

believe he correctly applied the law. The minimum mandatory minimum under California law for assault with intent to commit rape is two years that offense is presumptively ineligible for probation. In order to grant probation, Judge Persky had to decide that this was an unusual case. And I strongly differ with that interpretation of the law. I do not believe this case is unusual except that it is more severe not less severe than other campus rapes because it happened in public

In terms of whether the recall is appropriate, I want to distinguish a recall from these things like petitions and impeachment. I'm not accusing Judge Persky in any way of having done anything illegal or wrongful or unethical. What I am saying is that I strongly disagree with his opinion.

Judge Persky is an elected county judge, and he is subject to the will of the voters. And all a recall does is it puts him on the ballot along with other candidates and then we have an election. So people who support him are free to vote for him and campaign for him and I look forward to debating them.

People who do not support him like myself will vote against him and will campaign against him, and I am confident that we'll replace him with someone who understands sexual violence.

BROWN: And let me talk about that, understanding sexual violence, because we have heard from Brock Turner in his letter. He did not apologize for sexual assault. He did not show remorse. His parents as we have learned did not address the victim in this case in their letters to the court, though they're trying to defend their son.

And some of the letters defending Brock Turner put the blame on the victim saying that, you know, "she shouldn't have been drinking so much."

Do you think part of the issue here is just a misunderstanding across the country of what sexual assault is, of what rape is, that it's not necessarily the bad guy coming out of the shadows and, you know, kidnapping you and raping you?

DAUBER: Yes. I think there is a misunderstanding here, and the misunderstanding that I'm most concerned about, about what sexual assault is on the part of Judge Aaron Persky because one of the letters that's been highlighted on line is from a young lady named Leslie, and this letter was specifically cited in court as the judge announced his decision as one that he found particularly influential.

[16:10:00]

And I would really invite your readers to take a look at that letter because that letter is nonsense. It puts the blame on the victim. It suggests that it's just - you know, all of us who wanted him sentenced were just being "politically correct." It is based literally on rape myths and nonsense. So that's the kind of information that Judge Persky found persuasive and that is why I say Aaron Persky does not understand sexual violence.

And the standard for whether the voters shall retain him in office is not whether he has committed a crime as your analyst said. Your analyst probably doesn't understand the California constitution perhaps. We elect our judges, and the voters have the right to decide.

BROWN: And in order for him to be recalled, 20 percent of the voters who put him in office before have to make their voices heard. But I want to talk about another letter that the judge took into consideration, of course, that is the rape victim's letter. And in it she raised an important question. She said, "the fact that Brock was a star athlete at a prestigious university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency but as an opportunity to send a strong cultural message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class. If I had been sexually assaulted by an unathletic guy from a community college, what would his sentence be?"

We heard our CNN reporter read a quote from the mother who denied white privilege, but what do you think, do you think a non-white, non- star athlete would have gotten a more severe punishment?

DAUBER: Well, I can't say that. But what I can say is that the California penitentiary system is overcrowded with millions of black and brown and poor men who are doing much more than two years for property crimes and nonviolent drug offenses who never sexually assaulted any one in the dirt next to a dumpster in a public place. So I think that what we have to think about here is what message is being sent.

Judge Persky should recalled by the voters because he has sent a message that has made all women at Stanford and in fact in colleges all over Santa Clara County and the state of California less safe because he's sending the message that, you know, to women, you're on your own, don't call the police because there's no justice for you. And to perpetrators like Brock Turner, hey, I have your back.

And that's unacceptable. You know, in 2016 to send a message like that and it's time to just put a stop to it.

BROWN: I just have to ask you this because you're a Stanford law professor. Stanford sent out a statement saying for its part it did everything within its power to make sure that justice was served. Do you agree with that and if not, what more could have been done?

DAUBER: I don't agree with that. I think that Stanford still has yet to publicly acknowledge the fact that this terrible incident happened on its property at a student-sponsored function that was an officially sanctioned student organization, a fraternity, Kappa Alpha, it hasn't expressed any compassion for her in any way.

In fact, the local newspaper, the "Palo Alto Weekly," which is a very fine paper wrote a blistering editorial about Stanford's lack of compassion for the victim, and its wanting to sort of praise itself in its own performance. Stanford should step up, apologize and offer to pay therapy expenses for this young woman. And right now, there's a petition on change.org that was started by Stanford students that has over 100,000 signatures just asking Stanford, the richest educational institution, I think in the world to please pay for therapy for this young lady who was so severely traumatized on their property. And as yet Stanford is not doing that. So, no, i don't believe they have done everything they can.

BROWN: Professor, thank you so much for coming on and having your voice heard on this very important story.

And be sure to watch CNN Tuesday night at 9:00 Eastern, Ashley Banfield (INAUDIBLE) is hosting a town hall on sexual assault.

Donald Trump speaking right now in Pennsylvania where many Republican voters love him. But the state as a whole maybe not so much. Trump crushed the Republican primary there but recent election history does not lean his way. His plan and his message in Pittsburgh coming up live in the "CNN Newsroom" up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:15]

BROWN: Donald Trump has been speaking to a crowd in Pittsburgh. Let's listen in.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All of a sudden they're bent like a pretzel. Everything is - they're getting the protestor from every angle, every shot. Now there's tremendous dishonesty, folks. There's tremendous, tremendous dishonesty.

But with all of that, with all of the stuff that goes on and all of the phony reporting and dishonest reporting, the people are getting it. And that's why we're being covered like nobody, no place in the world. What's going on is being covered like no place in the world.

You know, the Republican Party was a little bit stayed. Is that a nice way of saying it? A little bit stayed. You know how to spell stayed, right? And the Republican Party was not exactly the most exciting place to be. And this year we're up 70 and the Democrats are down 32 or 33 in the primaries.

We're up 70 percent. And they're down 32 percent. Think of it. Think of it. So what's happening is an incredible thing. Now, I have to say this. I say it to it the leaders of the Republican Party. Folks, you've got to get tougher. You've got to be tougher. You've got to be strong. We've had a lot of losses. We've lost a lot of these presidential elections over the last long period of time. You've got to get strong. You've got to get tough. You've got to be smart. Or you're not going to have a lot of victories.

And I'll be honest. I'm talking about for them. Because I think I'm going to win anyway. I really think I can win. I don't want to do it that way. Do you understand what I mean? I'm not even sure it's not better for me. But I'd like to see the Republican leadership get very strong, very sharp, very smart, and be cool. You've got to be cool. But we're winning either way. We are going to win either way. And we're going to set this country back on course. And we're not going to protect all of these nations where we're subsidizing the military protection of massive nations that are making fortunes of money and they're paying us a fraction of what it costs. Can you imagine as an example --

BROWN: Donald Trump speaking there in Pittsburgh to his supporters in an airport hanger there, his private plane right behind him. As you heard him say, he says he's going to win. He is in a battleground state right there, a state in which Hillary Clinton will be visiting on Tuesday. He has been going after Hillary Clinton today, and he will also do so on Monday in a speech that is scheduled in New Hampshire at 2:30 p.m. where he's expected to retaliate against Hillary Clinton.

Meantime, both fans and the music world in shock today after pop singer Christina Grimmie is shot and killed following a concert. Up next, what police know about the gunman who cut short the talented 22- year-old's life tragically.

[16:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Police say the man who shot and killed singer Christina Grimmie after her Orlando concert last night was likely deranged, the 22-year-old was gunned down just minutes after leaving the stage. A fan captured her final performance.

Police say Grimmie's brother went after the shooter but the suspect fatally shot himself, leaving police to figure out why he'd carry out such a cold-blooded crime. I'm going to bring in now our Boris Sanchez with more. Do we know anything else about this shooter and why he did what he did, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, all of that is a mystery right now. Officials have been tight-lipped about a lot of details about this 27-year-old gunman. They tell us he's from somewhere in Florida and they believe that he traveled here to Orlando to the Plaza Live specifically to attack Christina Grimmie.

[16:25:05]

They tell us that he had two small caliber handguns on him as well as a hunting knife and that after the singer was done performing a concert for her fans, she was signing autographs and that's when the attack happened. Here's how orlando police describe what unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOHN MINA, ORLANDO POLICE: This was after the show. There were about 120 people inside the plaza. And she was doing like a meet and greet, signing autographs and selling merchandise. So this white male approached her and opened fire, striking her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: A very, very traumatic scene. You mentioned her brother, Marcus. Police are commending his actions. They say that he tackled the shooter and took him down preventing him from hurting other people in that scuffle, obviously, the shooter took his own life.

Now there's this big question mark as to why he did this. Police are confirming that he acted alone and despite some reporting on social media previously, they say that he didn't know the singer. There was some reports that indicated that he may have known her family. But Orlando Police are dispelling those rumors and now we're left with this big question as to why he would do such a thing to a singer whose career was just hitting its stride.

She was really in her prime. Now we're seeing an outpouring of support from fans here offering condolences just outside the venue where she lost her life, Pamela.

BROWN: That's just so sad and so disturbing. Boris sanchez, thank you very much.

And coming up on this Saturday afternoon, the Clinton campaign is finding a new way to poke fun at Donald Trump. We'll show you their new infomercial that's supposed to reveal the real story about Trump University.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A new Hillary Clinton infomercial mocks Donald Trump's Trump University promotional ad. It claims it tells the true story about his defunct real estate university that's facing multiple lawsuits. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, HILLARY FOR AMERICA)

[16:30:00] ANNOUNCER: Now you too can be a source of Trump's wealth with Trump University. Just follow these three easy steps. Step one --

DONALD TRUMP, BUSINESSMAN: Sign up at Trump University.

ANNOUNCER: Step two, pay for Trump University at the amazing price of everything you have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The instructions include encouraging people who couldn't afford the courses to pay for them with multiple credit cards.

ANNOUNCER: Step three, there is no step three. You won't have to relearn anything. It's that easy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Meanwhile, Donald Trump is hammering Hillary Clinton for appointing a major Clinton Foundation donor to a sensitive intelligence board while she was secretary of state. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They all looked, they said, where did this guy come from? He made a contribution of $250,000, all of a sudden, he's on this very important and vital board. This position dealt with tactical nuclear weapons and had top secret clearance. And he knew nothing about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And he's talking about Raj Fernando. Fernando is a Chicago stockbroker who appears to have limited qualifications for being on the State Department's international security advisory board. He gave thousands to Hillary Clinton's campaign and a million dollars or more to the Clinton Foundation. He was appointed by Hillary Clinton chief of staff and long time advisor, Cheryl Mills.

All right. Jeffrey Lord is here, a former White House staffer and Donald Trump supporter to discuss all of this. And also, we're also joined by Bernard Whitman, a Hillary Clinton supporter and Democratic strategist. And Rebecca Berg, she joins us as well. She's a reporter for Real Clear Politics.

Great to see you all of you again.

I -- we have a lot to discuss, but I want to start with what we were just talking about, this controversy, if you will, about the hire of this Clinton donor to be on this board at the State Department. The Clinton camp is responding saying, quote, "This was an unpaid, volunteer advisory board and one of several foreign policy-focused organizations that he was involved with. As the State Department itself has said, the ISAB charter calls for a diverse set of experience for its members. That's all there is to it."

But, Bernard, are you concerned at all this will feed into the perception that Hillary Clinton may have been involved in shady business while she was secretary of state?

BERNARD WHITMAN, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: No, I don't think so. I think it's honestly probably not the best hire but as the charter of the ISAB says, they're looking for a group with a diverse background, doesn't require a security background, doesn't require to be an expert on defense. It was an unpaid position. It was a volunteer board.

There' a tremendous number of these boards all around government. I mean, unfortunately, for better or worse, the way a lot of people get to be ambassadors, the way lot of people serve on these boards is by raising money, by donating money. And I think that while it may not have been the best hiring decision, I actually don't think there's a lot here.

And it really points out that the Donald Trump campaign doesn't have a single thing to say about basic policy, doesn't have a single thing to say to defend his racist bigotry, doesn't have a single thing to say in response to Hillary's ad, which I thought was very funny. There's a lot of truth in humor, and it's pretty clear Donald Trump is basically a fraud and all he's got to say is, well, you know, when Hillary was secretary of state, some guy got appointed to a panel that may be wasn't the most qualified. I mean, that's a pretty weak attack.

BROWN: Jeffrey?

JEFFREY LORD, FORMER REAGAN WHITE HOUSE AIDE: Well, it's interesting that you've got this commercial going on, the Trump University. We are going to be hearing a lot I think about Laureate University which paid Bill Clinton if I'm correct here over $16 million, and meanwhile the Department of State funneled back according to Breitbart News about $55 million to the founder of this university, to the head of this university.

So, believe me, there's going to be more about this, I think. It's just very interesting that two universities here -- I mean, you're going to have one story from each side and the Laureate University is going to feed into the exactly what we've been talk about with this appointment to the State Department board or whatever it was that he was on. This is only going to increase the pattern here of an appearance of corruption and impropriety that she uses her office as secretary of state.

BROWN: Well, speaking of patterns, Donald Trump has, as we've known, as we've seen throughout this primary season and now as we head into the election season, liked to veer off course. But a lot of his supporters and leaders in the party want him to stay on track and really focus on Hillary Clinton.

We know that there is this speech that is coming up on Monday, Rebecca, where Donald Trump is expected to really go after Hillary Clinton on the heels of her speech that she had recently.

What does he need to do to blunt her momentum that she has gained this past week, becoming the presumptive nominee and getting Barack Obama on board?

REBECCA BERG, POLITICAL REPORTER, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Sure. Well, as you suggested, Pamela, he is being urged by Republican leaders to get on script and that's really one of the big things he needs to do on Monday because he has been distracted over the past few weeks with the Trump University controversy, with the controversy over his payments to veterans organizations, controversial remarks that he himself has made that have spun sort of out of control.

[16:35:14] He has not been focusing on Hillary Clinton. And so, a big part of this speech is just sort of resetting his campaign, getting that focus, and appeasing these Republican leaders who are growing very nervous. But another part of this is indeed responding to her remarks which got a lot of attention during her foreign policy speech in San Diego and many people saw her arguments that she was making against Donald Trump not only as remarks that got a lot of attention but also were very effective and really resonated with people.

And so, Donald Trump needs to try to shift the narrative back to him in a positive way and attacking Hillary Clinton is going to be the way for him to do that. BROWN: And, Jeffrey, though, with continues to focus on others

beyond Hillary Clinton. In fact, just today, he went after Elizabeth Warren again. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And somebody said to me, one of the media, Mr. Trump, would you apologize? I said, yes, I'll apologize. To Pocahontas I will apologize, because Pocahontas is insulted by the statement.

No. I mean, this is what we're dealing with, folks. This is what we're dealing with. We have to get smart. We have to get tough. We have to stop being so politically correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: OK. So, Jeffrey, are we going to see him get on track and just focus on Hillary Clinton as party leadership hopes for?

LORD: Sure. But I have to say, Pamela, I think he was on track there. I mean, you notice that towards the end of that he was talking about political correctness. I don't think there's any question that the sort of fury at political correctness that has been building for years has finally reached its limit and I think that's one that served as rocket fuel if you will for the Trump campaign because not only is he personally politically incorrect, but there's a lot of Americans out there that have just had it with this whole thing. So, I actually think that that is on track because he will paint her correctly as somebody who was involved in this all of the time.

BROWN: So on track to be clear is apologizing to Pocahontas?

LORD: Well, I mean, what he's talking about is Elizabeth Warren and, of course, Harvard Law School made much the fact of her so-called Native American background. And this goes right to the whole deal of identity politics and hiring people not because of their merit but because of their ethnic background and so much more.

I mean, this is political correctness to the max, so he does it with humor, but there's a sharp point to it and I think a lot of Americans get it and they're absolutely fed up with.

BROWN: All right. We unfortunately have to leave it here. But interesting discussion.

Jeffrey Lord, Bernard Whitman, and Rebecca Berg, thank you so much to the three of you.

WHITMAN: Thank you.

BERG: Thanks, Pamela.

LORD: Thanks, Pamela.

BROWN: And up next, it's one of the biggest issues much the election system, immigration. What do we do about it? How do we fix it? I went to find out riding along with the people in charge of tracking down undocumented immigrants who have been convicted. What I learned up next.

But first, today's "Turning Point" is one of the stars of ABC's "Shark Tank" Kevin O'Leary used his expertise to help other entrepreneurs pursue their dreams. What you may not know on his path of success, he had to overcome a reading disorder.

Here's CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kevin O'Leary is known for his ferocity on ABC's "Shark Tank".

KEVIN O'LEARY, SHARK TANK: You don't have any creativity, Barbara.

GUPTA: But before he became the successful business leader known as Mr. Wonderful, Kevin struggled to keep up in school.

O'LEARY: I was dyslexic and very much so. It was very challenging for me. I couldn't read in early ages. And it gets you pushed back. I was really wondering if I ever was going to make it. I was failing. There was a lot of panic in my own family.

GUPTA: His mother pushed for Kevin to receive special accommodations. That's when a teacher came with a theory, one that would help Kevin overcome his learning disability.

O'LEARY: Their thesis went like this. This is not a fault. You have a super power. And when you're that young, you buy into that. It gives you the confidence you need and that's what occurred to me. She gave me the confidence. I think of those days --

GUPTA: Kevin went on to earn an MBA and co-found a software company which made him a multimillionaire. Now, he's the one inspiring confidence in others.

O'LEARY: And I meet lots of dyslexic people today and I give them encouragement because it is a super power.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:35] BROWN: What to do about undocumented immigrants in the United States. It's been one of the biggest issues this election season, and as the debate heats up on both sides, I had the chance to ride along with a federal immigration agents in charge of finding undocumented convicted felons.

As I quickly found out, so-called "sanctuary cities" like Chicago make their jobs a little tougher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Under the cloak of darkness in Chicago.

SHAWN BYERS, ICE FUGITIVE OPERATION SUPERVISOR: That one guys.

BROWN: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement team gears up for another long day.

BYERS: Copy.

BROWN: Pursuing undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of crimes in the U.S.

BYERS: We got three targets this morning.

BROWN: Team supervisor Shawn Byers.

BYERS: First two, aggravated felon's, drug tracking each of serves at least 10 years in prison. The third one there's possible guns in the situation, so we got to make sure that we're prepared for that as well. All right, let's roll guys.

BROWN: The undocumented convicts they're going after were all released from the Cook County jail without immigration officials being notified.

BYERS: You're adrenalin blood pressure of course goes up when your get ready to do something like this, Bravo team in the neighborhood.

BROWN: The first target.

BYERS: The men in white.

BROWN: A convicted cocaine dealer from Mexico who was arrested again convicted at DUI and released on probation.

BYERS: This individual we could have had from local authorities when he was arrested but recently which would save the taxpayers a whole lot of dollars.

[16:45:00] BROWN: It turns out this is the targets brother. He's committed no crime and he's released.

ICE officials say mistake like this are made and endless man-hours wasted trying to find people they could have picked up at the local jail, were it not for a Cook County law prohibiting local police and jail officials from even notifying ICE before releasing an undocumented criminal back onto the streets.

BYERS: If we were able to arrest them while they're incarcerated, another law enforcement agents of Cook County, would be impossibly identified. It'll be a much safer situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next story.

BROWN: A Mexican national who did 10 years in prison for dealing heroine in the U.S.

BYERS: He was recently arrested for driving under influence, and he's also been currently using a U.S. citizen's identity to be able to work and have a driver's license and everything else.

BROWN: And ICE had interaction with him before, right?

BYERS: Yes, we post to remove him at least once in the United States before, so he's been arrested, removed and came back.

BROWN: Cook County and Chicago are among the more than 300 so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across the country, including Miami, New York City and Los Angeles.

JESUS "CHUY" GARCIA, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COMMISIONER: I came to Chicago as an immigrant at 9 years of age.

BROWN: Commissioner "Chuy" Garcia spearheaded the four-year-old law in Cook County.

GARCIA: The reason that we came up with a policy in Cook County for dealing with ICE detainers was because people were being stopped, arrested for minor infractions.

BROWN: Garcia says the law prevents the deportation of innocent people even though that means convicted criminals in the U.S. illegally are set free.

Why do these people belong in your community?

GARCIA: I'm not saying they belong in my community. What I'm saying is that the overwhelming majority of immigrants are law abiding, hard working individuals making contributions to our country and our society.

BROWN: As the sun rises on Chicago, the risk for the team ramps up.

BYERS: The whole tempo and everything gets escalated.

Ma'am can you open the door, it's the police.

There's a lot of risks when we're having to do this out in the street like this. We always at risk to ourselves, the officers, risk to innocent bystanders.

BROWN: The team finds its third target working at this auto shop on the north side of Chicago, a twice-deported felon with two DUI convictions according to ICE.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any weapons on you?

BROWN: Then, agents realize his brother is also there.

So, why are you checking the brother?

BYERS: Based on preliminary, he looks like he's also illegal. So, we're just going to verify with some of these technologies.

BROWN: They used a new mobile fingerprint scanner on the brother to see if he's ever been stopped by immigration officials before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it's a hit.

BROWN: And just then, an agent takes off as a third person runs out the back door. They catch him seconds later.

So, if there's a hit with the biometric testing, he'll be brought in to the processing center to see if there's a criminal history?

BYERS: Yeah, we'll bring him in and go from there.

BROWN: As the man's crying wife watches, he admits he is in the U.S. illegally. But a quick check shows he has never had any interactions with Federal immigration officials before, so ICE lets him go.

BYERS: Good luck to you, man.

BROWN: Relieved, the man explains why he ran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was afraid.

BROWN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. It's just how it is and sometimes they just take you and they don't care whatever they do, but this time I'm, I guess I'm not one of those.

BROWN: He's just one of three undocumented immigrants ICE let go during a ride along because even though they came to the U.S. illegally, they don't have criminal records. Part of President Obama's initiative to focus on deporting convicted criminals, those considered a treat to public safety and anyone caught crossing the border illegally after January 2014, including women and children.

Head of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says there was nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. right now, ICE has to prioritize who it goes after.

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're not interested in rounding up people who have been in this country for years, who have become integrated members of society and who commit minor offenses and then released couple of days later. We're interested in the worse of the worst and not releasing them to the streets.

BROWN: Commissioner Garcia doesn't buy it.

So we were with ICE during the ride along, they questioned, detained a couple undocumented immigrants who they then released because they didn't have criminal records.

GARCIA: I wish you could go on every ride that they take. That's not what happens in many, many cases.

BYERS: We release on a daily basis, sometimes two to three times, what we actually arrest.

BROWN: The team made four arrests this day. The one they couldn't find, a convicted child molester who's already been deported once before.

BYERS: It's very disconcerting that we can't arrest that individual today. That's why we keep trying to get him. Every chance we get, we're going to try to get him. Our job is never done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And you may recall last summer, an undocumented felon shot and killed 32-year-old Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier.

[16:50:03] He claimed it was an accident. Her family has since filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city of San Francisco and two federal agencies, including ICE. Important to note that some sanctuary cities across the country are now at least notifying ICE when an you undocumented criminal is released in the wake of Steinle's murder.

CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROWN: And we do have some breaking news in that shooting death of singer Christina Grimmie, the star of the NBC's "The Voice" was killed after her final concert in Orlando.

Boris Sanchez is in Orlando with new details about the killer.

So, what have you learned for us?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, just a few moments ago, Orlando police confirming the name of the suspected gunman. His name is Kevin James Loibl. He's 27 years old. Again, Kevin James Loibl.

His last known address is in St. Petersburg, Florida. That coincides with what police have been telling us that he was somewhere in Florida and that he came here to Orlando specifically to carry out this attack.

To give you an idea, St. Petersburg is about two hours west of Orlando, so for him to have plotted this out gives you some glimpse of his mental state at the time that he carried out this attack.

Other minor details that we've confirmed with police, he acted alone.

[16:55:02] He had two small caliber handguns here along with a large hunting knife that he had on him during the attack. Apparently, the singer Christina Grimmie had been signing autographs for fans after her concert and that's when Kevin James Loibl went after her.

Her brother Marcus tackled him to the ground and during that scuffle, police say that the gunman turned the gun on himself and took his own life.

They're still searching through his computer and his phone to figure out a motive, but again, to give you a perspective of the potential mental state he was in. He drove two hours police say to specifically carry out this attack in Central Florida, Pamela.

BROWN: Still so much to learn about this.

Boris Sanchez, thank you so much.

And coming up live in the CNN NEWSROOM, this is the first weekend of the election where we finally have two presumptive candidates. What they're doing today to try to win it all in November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday afternoon. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Poppy Harlow. Great to have you with us this weekend.

And it's the first weekend with the presidential race narrowed down to the two runners and the presumptive nominee who was hitting two battleground states today. Republican Donald Trump, he spent the morning in Florida and the afternoon in Pennsylvania. And he's doing what has defined the Trump candidacy since day one, lashing at his critics, lambasting the media, and predicting an easy victory come November.