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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Senate Set to Vote on Four Gun Control Measures; Vanderbilt Football Player Found Guilty of Rape; Police Find 12 Girls in House of Horrors. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired June 20, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:19] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans and Democrats going toe to toe on Capitol Hill today over gun control. The senate is set to vote on four measures after a 15-hour filibuster by a senate democrat last week.

There are two versions of a measure that would make it harder to buy a gun for anybody who just happens to be on the federal terror watch list. Yes, we need a measure for that, folks. There are also two versions of a proposal that would expand background checks for gun buyers.

CNN's Manu Raju is in Washington with the details and I'm also joined by CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

And Manu, I'm going to start really broad with you, if I may. We're hearing about four measures on Capitol Hill today. We also hear that they've been there before and failed before. We're hearing there's a fifth one that slightly just started getting dandy about it. Maybe has a little more chance of success. But why is everyone so certain that today's votes will go nowhere when so many Americans want them to do something about gun control?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well Ashleigh, two parties are at fundamental odds over how to expand background checks and how to prevent terror suspects from buying guns closing that so called terror gap that you mentioned.

That's what much of the focus has been in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting. Democrats want to give the attorney-general the ability to block anyone on that terror watch list from obtaining a gun. But Republicans are arguing that that provision is too broad that could sweep up innocent Americans that should be on that list.

They have their own plan to give the FBI in court a chance to weigh in and whether there's reason to believe someone is indeed going to use a firearm for terrorism and then ban the sale of the firearm.

But Democrats believe that standard will never be met. So what we're going to end up tonight with, Ashleigh, is more gridlock. But you mentioned a fifth proposal that Susan Collins of Maine, the moderate Maine Republican. She plans to unveil what she considers a compromised issue to ban gun sales to people on a no fly list. And give people who are denied of firearm the right to appeal. But right now, the leadership on both sides had not seen the language yet and it's not certain yet whether there'll be votes to pass it.

BANFIELD: OK. With that as the back draft, I want to put up a poll if I can just to sort of test the waters of the American people when it comes to background checks. Because you would think we'd be 50-50 the way Congress is behaving. And it is not at all 50-50.

Just take a look at what CBS News was able to do June 13th to June 14th in its polling of Americans. The question was, do you favor background checks for gun buyers? Do you favor them for gun buyers?

All Americans, overall, 89 percent said yes. And let's break that into Republicans. Ninety-two percent of Republicans favor background checks on gun buyers. Ninety-seven percent of Democrats favor background checks on gun buyers. Independents, it's slightly less, 82 percent of Independents favor background checks on gun buyers.

[12:35:10] And yet, you have Chris Cox, who is one of the chief lobbyists for the NRA saying this over the weekend. One of the big political shows about "anybody in Congress, if you think you're going to vote for gun control measures and background checks," well, I'll let him say it. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS COX, NRA CHIEF LOBBYIST: The politicians who want to just divert attention away from the underlying problems suggesting we're somehow to blame will pay a price for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: He's right.

BANFIELD: So Jeffrey Toobin saying off camera as he's watching that, "He's right".

TOOBIN: The issue on gun control is what social scientists call "preference intensity". And what that means is, the people who are for gun control, they're for if you ask them in a survey. But they're not going to vote for or against the candidate based on their position on gun control. They're concerned about immigration, climate change, the economy.

People who are deeply opposed to gun control will vote on that issue alone. And that is why, especially in the Republican Party, you have a group of politicians who are completely in line with the NRA in part certainly because they agree on the merits. But they also understand as Chris Cox said, they will pay a political price for it. There's not much of a political price for on the other side.

BANFIELD: So Manu, what Jeff is saying is that it does not matter even that Chris Cox has the $14 million war coffer to go to battle in advertising against congressmen who say vote in favor of background checks. It's not really about the advertising, it's not really about the powerful NRA lobbyist, it's not really about the money they can spend, it's about the kind of voters within the NRA. They will go to the polls and they will vote as Jeffrey just said on that issue. Everything else be damned whether abortion is an issue, it does not matter. It is the issue that drives them.

Why then Manu, are there not those same people that exist and are voting on gun control and gun control alone?

RAJU: Well, they're not just nearly as powerful and as well-organized as the NRA. I mean, as Jeffrey said, that's one reason why its puts the Republicans these issues -- for Republicans are running for reelection in difficult spot. I mean, remember back in 2013 right after the Newtown shooting in Connecticut, there was a vote in the Senate over a bipartisan bill to expand background checks.

At that time, for New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, she voted against that bill. And she came under withering attacks from the left. But it probably would have been worse for her had she backed that piece of legislation. And now faces a tough reelection this year. Probably would have been tougher if she crossed the NRA.

And in 2013, that same year, you recall two Colorado State Democrats were recalled from office after backing more restrictive gun measures. So the NRA clearly can flex its political muscle, not something that groups on the left are I guess have been unable to do Ashleigh.

TOOBIN: Mr. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York is trying to organize a counter way to the NRA. And he's put a lot of money behind it but at least so far, it has not -- it's not -- it's certainly not the NRA.

BANFIELD: I wonder if his people also know about the CBS poll from 2013 and that's, you know, after another major shooting. That's a 74 percent of NRA members. Seventy-four percent of NRA members believed all gun buyers should get background checks.

So I'm sort of at a loss but to get your word Jeffrey Toobin, thank you for that. Manu Raju, thank you as well, appreciate it.

Coming up next, ex-Vanderbilt football player. Now convicted for the second time in a retrial. All of it based on a horrifying campus rape. He is guilty on all counts against him for encouraging and inviting his teammates to just go on ahead and assault his unconscious girlfriend for hours and take pictures of it.

So, what's next for the rest of the defendant in the case?

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[12:43:27] BANFIELD: Unconscious female, drunk male student, college campus and I think you can probably guess what happens next but unlike the Stanford rape case, the punishment for a former Vanderbilt university football player is going to be a lot more severe. A jury in Tennessee found Brandon Vanderburg guilty of rape and this is just happening over the weekend. Now, he's facing upwards of 25 years in prison. Vanderburg was accused of taking a woman who he was dating at the time into his dorm room back in June of 2013 where police say he invited and encouraged three of his football teammates to sexually assault her over hours. It might sound familiar to you because this was his second trial. He was also convicted in his first trial but the judge declared it a mistrial because the jury foreman lied during jury selection, failing to dispose that he himself had been victim of a statutory rape case.

As a legal view on this particular case, I want to bring in CNN Legal Analyst and Defense Attorney Joey Jackson and CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.

Paul Callan, I get it, we've had two trials. We've had two verdicts. The unusual thing about this particular case is that man, according to the police, didn't necessarily physically take part in the rape. It was the other three who did the physical part of the rape and yet he's charged exactly the same and he's facing just as lengthy as sentence. Why is that?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Virtually, every state in the country has laws in place that say if you act in concert with other people who commit a crime, you're the lookout in a robbery, you helped plan the robbery but you don't go in and do it, you face the same criminal punishment.

[12:45:15] And here, I think you could make an argument that he's even worse than the others because he set her up, she trusted him, and he's the one who enabled this attack by multiple perpetrators and rapes. So, it doesn't surprise me at all that he faces the same criminal liability even though there may be a claim that he didn't actually penetrate her that night.

BANFIELD: And let's be clear, by the way, about how horrendous this rape was. They used implements, they videotaped, they urinated on the victim. She was so unconscious, she did not even know any of this until she had been shown video of it. She had to be shown video of her own assault for her to know.

And they memorialized their actions on video. I mean, it's so astounding. But there are four of them. And Cory Batey has already been found guilty but there are two others still to go to trial. I'm curious about how do you get a fair jury pool having all of this happens twice over for these other two in that community?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It may be rather difficult to do that and there's a quick aside of the things that Paul Callan mentioned in terms of the aiding and assisting and bringing, you know, her there, really. You can make the argument, certainly, that he's as culpable if not more so.

But what happens is remember when you're picking trials, the constitution certainly guarantees your right to a fair trial but trial's imperfect to begin with. And so whenever you get a jury pool, what you do Ashleigh, the issue is not have you heard about the case? The issue is having heard about the case, have you formulated such an opinion that you would be not the ideal juror here, right, that you wouldn't be the ideal juror.

And so in that regard, what they'll do is they'll put the other jury pool and those people who say, you know what, I have opinions and my opinions are really too strong and based upon my opinions and my thoughts in this case, I really shouldn't serve here, they really will be dismissed. And to think about it, our system really works because in the other case as you mentioned, he was convicted previously but guess what happened? Because the fourth person on that jury happened to lie, he got a new trial. And so, in the event that the jurors, in this case, they assemble one and a juror, for example, is not completely truthful, you get a new trial here.

BANFIELD: So, I have to wrap up that he's going to get the max, 25? 15 to 25, what do we think?

CALLAN: I think this thing calls out for a maximum penalty because of the way it was done, multiple perpetrators, unconscious woman, set up by her boyfriend.

BANFIELD: Do you think it's going to happen though?

JACKSON: It does.

CALLAN: I don't think this will happen.

BANFIELD: You don't think it will ...

JACKSON: I think it's going to be high end. I don't think it will be the maximum, but it's going to be at the high end.

BANFIELD: I'm reconvening the both of you for when we get sentences.

JACKSON: I think it's horrific, it's abusive, it's disgusting. I think that his lawyers will put in mitigating circumstances there.

BANFIELD: Football player, clean ...

JACKSON: It's not going to be six months, I guarantee ...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: It ain't going to be six months, right. Paul Callan, thank you. Joey Jackson, thank you. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, sexual assault arrest of a man living with 12 young females, 12, all of them related. So where were their parents? That is the part of the story that may make you the most sick.

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[12:52:07] BANFIELD: How we say this so often on this program, if you see something, say something, and that is what one woman did. And it led police to a house of horrors in Feasterville Pennsylvania where a man was found living with 12 girls including an 18-year-old woman and two children he fathered with her. Lee Kaplan was arrested on Thursday and now faces charges including sexual assault. He is 51 years old. This is his booking photo, long gray hair, unkempt beard. Police say that 12 girls inside his home ranged in age from 6 months to 18, 18 years. The oldest one, the 18- year-old conceived her first child with him when she was just 14. You may be wondering where on earth were these parents when this is happening.

Police say they were the ones who gave their daughter to Kaplan as a "gift" for saving them from financial ruin. So needless to say, these two have also been arrested and needless to say, these two are facing serious charges as well.

Jean Casarez joins me now live from Feasterville, Pennsylvania. Jean herself is a lawyer and knows a thing or two about some of the law in Pennsylvania. Jean, this is absolutely remarkable. Lead me up to how we discovered all of this.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDNET: Well, you're talking about the tip. Well, police told me today that they got a tip. They won't tell me how they got the tip but, Ashleigh, this is an ongoing investigation and right now, we understand they are interviewing those 12 young women. They've waited until today because they wanted to give them a chance to rest. They're bringing in an Amish translator for the Amish dialect in case they need that.

But it all started on Thursday and that is when, yes we know a neighbor called 911. She called the Childhelp hotline to say what she believed was something very wrong going on in that house right behind me but police also tell me that separate and distinct from that, they got a tip. A tip that an 18-year-old was gifted to a man by the name of Lee Kaplan who lived in the house right behind me when she was 14, that she had given birth to two children at age 14 and beyond of him but it's that neighbor that said I had called several times through the years, I couldn't take it any longer. She called again on Thursday. Let's listen to Jen Betz.

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JEN BETZ, NEIGHBOR: My gut was telling me to confirm what I was thinking. I just knew. There is no reason why this older, significantly older man, you know, any man regardless of what they look like would have this amount of children all in blue dresses, never outside the house that I could, you know, regularly, looking so scared.

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CASAREZ: And once again, Jen Betz said she have called several times through the years. Blue dresses, she said whenever she saw the young girls. Blue doors she said there was a blue light shining at the backyard. Everything was blue. And that told her there's something really wrong here, Ashleigh.

[12:55:14] BANFIELD: Yeah, well there's something really wrong is that you have to have a court, a judge sign off and parents sign off if you want to marry your under 16-year-old off to someone. That's Pennsylvania code. So they are in a lot of trouble.

Jean Casarez, thank you for that. I appreciate it. We'll continue to follow that story.

I also had this just in to the show as well. Donald Trump's newly fired campaign manager has now given his first on the record statement. And it's awfully short core, Lewandowski saying, "I stand by the fact that Mr. Trump is a great candidate and is better than Hillary Clinton ever will be." But not end of the story.

Thank you for watching "LEGAL VIEW." Wolf is going to pick upright after this.

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[12:6004] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1 p.m. here at Washington. Thanks very much for joining us.