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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Orlando Shooter Tried to Buy Level III Body Armor; Obama Embraces Victims, Pleads for Gun Control; McCain Blames Obama for Orlando Attack; Trump Blasts Obama & Clinton in Texas; CIA Director: ISIS Terror Capabilities Intact; Senate to Vote on Four Gun-Control Bills. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 17, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. New information on the Orlando club killer's wife texting with her husband during the attack, as investigators ask, were warning signs missed?

[05:00:06]President Obama meeting with victims and their families in Orlando, calling for new gun control to prevent future tragedies.

Will lawmakers hear his pleas? Good morning. Welcome to "early start." I'm Christine Romans in New York.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell in Orlando. It's Friday, June 17th. Now 5:00 a.m. here in Orlando.

And the breaking news this morning, new information about the Orlando nightclub massacre. Were warning signs about the gunman missed?

Well, this as President Obama travels to Orlando to offer his support and to help his traumatized city recover. We are learning that gunman Omar Mateen texted with his wife during the attack, asking her if she had seen the news.

Well, the FBI is still investigating what the wife, Noor Salman, you see her here, may have known about her husband's deadly plans. But Orlando's federal prosecutor says it is still too early to say whether she or anyone else will face charges.

We are also learning more this morning about Mateen's visit to a Florida gun shop where he tried to buy military-grade body armor, something that store doesn't sell. The store employee say they reported the suspicious inquiry to the FBI.

So, now, we've got with us, CNN's Polo Sandoval and on the wife and that attempt to buy the military grade body armor.

Polo, what have you learned?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we told you yesterday, Victor, that it was very likely, according to the investigators, that the gunman actually likely used his phone to search Facebook in the middle of the shooting. And now, information suggesting he was using it to text his wife which you mentioned. I want to take you back to June 12th, about 4:00 a.m. It was about

four hours in the shooting not far from where I'm standing this morning. Investigators believe that the gunman actually texted Noor Salman asking if she saw the news. Investigators believe she then responded by calling several times after no answer she reportedly texted I love you to the gunman, and then, again, well, eventually no response there. Police eventually went to her home to tell her what was going on.

Obviously, it's going to be very key to find out what she did know. She has previously told investigators that her husband previously mentioned there was a plan to carry out some sort of attack. However, the question is, was it this attack? Could she face charges in the case? The grand jury will have to decide that. They are going over the evidence right now.

Meantime, you did mention other significant development. Another gun shop coming into the picture. Jensen Beach, Florida, just south of where the couple actually live, the gunman as his wife, the owner of the gun shop initially reported to the FBI in the weeks leading up to the shooting there were several suspicious individuals who are purchasing or at least attempting to purchase police clear. Investigators responded, they interviewed the shop owner and determined it was several foreign police officers that were carrying out legitimate purchases, and legitimate business.

But as they were closing that case, one of the individuals at that gun shop apparently told investigators of another possible incident, someone they felt was suspicious. Now feel it was Omar Mateen himself. Investigators say he was trying purchase not only level three armor, but also several rounds of ammunition, many rounds of ammunition.

Investigators followed up on that case. I want you to hear from an individual who works at the shop and hear what he told my colleague Drew Griffin just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBBIE ABELL, CO-OWNER OF LOTUS GUNWORKS: Our salesman got concerned about it and just informed him we do not have this body armor. At this time, he pulled away and got on to the cell phone. When he was on the cell phone, he had a conversation in a foreign language. That was more concerning.

Then he came back and he was requesting ammo. So he wanted bulk ammo only. At that time, he declined any business and left the store. We had no link, no contact. We didn't know he was. But we did contact authorities and let them know we just had a suspicious person that was in here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So again, this is really the latest information, the latest witness statement the investigators have to go over. So, it seems every day seems to bring a quite significant development, Victor. But we really cannot forget a community that is still grieving. The investigation continues entering day six.

At the same time, you have families, victor, now preparing to lay their loved ones to rest. At the same time, they are searching for answers trying to make some sense of something so senseless.

BLACKWELL: Funerals starting in just a few hours here in Orlando.

[05:05:02] Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

And President Obama and Vice President Biden, they spent most of the day yesterday in Orlando. As he has previous mass shootings, nine times before this one, the president consoled victims and survivors' families, offering support to another grief-stricken city.

The president and vice president laid roses at a memorial to the victims. They met with survivors and families members and medical and emergency personnel, and with staff of the Pulse nightclub. But afterwards, the president said he can offer them few promises of change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents and they asked why does this keep happening? And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage. They don't care about the politics. Neither do I.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The president's visit offering some comfort to a city deep in mourning today. Maybe it will be for some time. As this mother who you are about to meet, her son died in the massacre. She told CNN's Don Lemon that sympathy, even from President Obama, only goes so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORLISS TOMLINSON, MOTHER OF VICTIM SHANE TOMLINSON: He came and I said thank you for coming and being compassionate to the community. Really, what can you really say? You know? His words are not going to make me feel better and it's definitely not bringing back me my son. So, I was just happy that he was showing compassion.

But you sit there and you hear people talking, but you don't know what they are saying because your -- my mind's focused on when I get home, I got to start making funeral arrangements. I'm worried about what church and this. You know, my nightmare hasn't even begun yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And with me now to talk about how the city is coping is Paul Brinkmann, senior business editor with "The Orlando Sentinel."

And, Paul, let's start with this. This city now has something it has not before, this dubious and tragic distinction, classification of a terror target. But that means something more rhetorically, especially after this. What does it mean?

PAUL BRINKMANN, SENIOR BUSINESS REPORTER, THE ORLANDO SENTINEL: So, the Department of Homeland Security provides funding to various metropolitan areas it considers to be terror targets. They have an annual evaluation process for that. Orlando hasn't gotten any money since 2014. It did get money in 2014. But since then it has been deemed a low risk target.

BLACKWELL: You think about, it's an iconic city in many ways. You got Disney here. You've got the parks. You have to thousands, tens of thousands a year to these entities. Is it unexpected it hadn't gotten money before 2014?

BRINKMANN: Yes. I mean, Congressman John Mica has asked the process be investigated as to why Orlando did not get the money. There doesn't appear to be why it was considered to be a low risk threat. Look, so, you know, New York got $178 million. Los Angeles and Chicago each got $68 million.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BRINKMANN: Miami and Ft. Lauderdale got several million.

BLACKWELL: Orlando, before now, of course, a low risk target. What does that mean to the people? Not the money, but living in this environment where they are a terror target.

BRINKMANN: Yes. I mean, the money is used to equipped local law enforcement to make sure they have the right tools to deal with these things. That's the largest part of it.

BLACKWELL: Is there a feeling that is different here knowing it is a terror target?

BRINKMANN: For sure.

BLACKWELL: Talk to me about that.

BRINKMANN: I mean, it shattered any notion that we are not a terror target obviously. But, you know, I guess as far as that goes, the key issue is, was the shooter actually coordinated by, you know, some malevolent influence or was the motive there and exactly how that ruled will shed more light on that.

BLACKWELL: There is no evidence thus far this was ISIS directed, but certainly after that call and what we have seen on Facebook now, this post, ISIS inspired, investigators will say.

Paul Brinkmann, you're with us for the morning. Thank you for being with us.

Paul Brinkmann with "The Orlando Sentinel."

President Obama taking this to Washington, pleading for gun control measures. [05:10:03] But will that actually happen? These calls have come after

or the nine previous attacks. What's happening in Washington and being said on the campaign trail. We'll address that, coming up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The notion that the answer to this tragedy would be to make sure that more people in a nightclub are similarly armed to the killer defies common sense. Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That was President Obama after spending time with families who lost loved ones in the Orlando massacre. On Monday, the Senate will vote on four new bills, two from Democrats, two from Republicans, to make it harder for some people to buy firearms. The proposals include a ban on weapons sales to terror suspects in closing gun show loopholes.

[05:15:06] But none of them has a realistic chance of passing.

I want to discuss this with CNN politics reporter Tal Kopan, joining us live from Washington.

Good morning.

I want to bring in a little bit of something that Donald Trump said yesterday. He has been consistent in the days post Orlando to say that, you know, gun control is essentially trying to take your guns away and abolish the Second Amendment. He is pinning that right on Hillary Clinton. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just watched President Obama --

(BOOS)

TRUMP: And he does it a lot, he does it a lot. We have one after another. We have tragedy after tragedy. And it's a tough -- it's a tough situation. But he's largely, to a large extent, he's blaming guns and --

(BOOS)

TRUMP: And I'm going to save your Second Amendment, folks. I'm going to you're your Second Amendment, totally.

(CHEERS)

TRUMP: And Hillary wants to abolish the Second Amendment. Remember that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He does well, Tal, with that line on the campaign trail. He really does. Fact check here. Hillary Clinton does not want to abolish the Second Amendment. He wants to regulate the Second Amendment, the way other amendments are regulated, like free speech for example.

But this -- do you see this dominating the campaign trail here and I don't think we're going to see really any realistic passage of gun control. The four bills we are expecting today.

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: It seems like the gun control debate that occurred from this tragedy is probably the one that is short lived. You know, the filibuster that we saw this week accomplished actually getting votes on some of the bills.

As you said, we don't expect any of them to go anywhere. The two sides are still far apart. The NRA says it is willing to agree to some things and Democrats say they are not willing they want to sure to vote for anything the NRA would agree to. We see the divide continuing.

Once these votes happen, like many other tragedies, we witnessed in the country, it is likely the conversation will fade. What seems to be the more salient point that politicians may likely return to as we saw in San Bernardino is the question of terrorism and reach in our country. I think that's probably what we will see lingering weeks to months about this tragedy.

ROMANS: Interestingly. I point out that Charleston was a year ago today. Nine people gunned down by someone who is a white supremacist. You know, that was one year ago today. Since then, there had been numerous other shootings, including San Bernardino.

KOPAN: Sadly too easy to come up with examples.

ROMANS: Let's talk about John McCain and the kerfuffle over he blamed, appeared to blame President Obama personally from what happened in Orlando and then he walked it back a bit. Let's listen to what John McCain said about the president and his role in the Orlando massacre.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Barack Obama is directly responsible for it because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today, thanks to Barack Obama's failures.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROMANS: He since clarified the statement. And this is what he says, this is a tweet. He says, "I misspoke. I did not mean to imply the president was personally responsible. To clarify, I was referring to president's national security decisions that led to the rise of ISIL. Not the president himself."

What do you make of that, Tal?

KOPAN: One of the things that struck me about the kerfuffle of the McCain comments is the difference with the traditional politician and Donald Trump. I was thinking earlier in the week when Donald Trump made comments insinuating something about President Obama, saying there is something there. When asked to clarify, he didn't really take the opportunity to be precise. He said I think people know what I can say.

This is an example of someone who said something they probably shouldn't. It gives reporters a headline they don't want written about them. And he very quickly took to Twitter. He put out a statement. He was, you know, re-granting interviews to clarify, to be precise he was talking about policies.

I'm not sure how much the distinction matters except for the headline type of thing of whether someone is personally responsible instead of policies. It is clear he was in full walk-back mode very quickly after these comments.

ROMANS: Interesting. All right. Tal, you're going to come back in about 20 minutes. We're going to talk about the Democrats. There is plenty going on there. Thank you so much, Tal Kopan in Washington.

All right. The CIA warning the Obama administration strategy to stop is not working. What dozens of State Department officials are now demanding, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:24:26] ROMANS: We have breaking news this morning. Iraqi federal police troops recapturing a government building in Central Fallujah from ISIS. The head of the Iraqi federal police announcing on Facebook that troops raised the Iraqi flag over Fallujah's mayoral building.

The Iraqi military joint operations command claims that counterterrorism forces have recaptured a whole central Fallujah neighborhood, inflicting heavy losses on ISIS militants. They are now fighting to retake Fallujah's main hospital.

CIA Director John Brennan offering a sobering assessment of the two- year coalition to defeat ISIS.

[05:25:06] He says despite gains on the battlefield, coalition forces have failed to disrupt the ability to carry out and inspire terror attacks. Brennan tells lawmakers ISIS continues to adjust its strategy to remain operational with support from a global network. He calls the radicalization of so-called lone wolf attackers an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community.

More than 50 State Department officials want the Obama administration want to carry out militant strikes against the Assad regime in Syria. They have all signed an internal memo protesting U.S. policy, claiming a leadership in Syria is the only way to defeat ISIS. The memo circulated through the State Department's defense channel where officials can offer alternative views without fear of reprisal.

Time for an early start on your money. Good start to markets around the world. Asian stocks closed higher. European markets following their lead. U.S. stock futures barely moving right now. The Dow snapped a five-day losing streak yesterday with a gain of 93 points. S&P and NASDAQ closed higher.

Smith & Wesson is selling more guns than ever before. One of the country's largest gun makers reported more than a 22 percent increase in firearm sales. This includes sales through the end of April.

It is typical for gun manufacturers to see a spike in sales after mass shootings. Consumers fear tighter gun laws will limit their access to firearms. After the shooting in San Bernardino in December, Smith & Wesson's quarterly sales jumped 61 percent.

All right. President Obama in Orlando, comforting victims as we learn new information this morning about the gunman and what he was doing during the massacre. We're live next.

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