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Clinton Says Trump "Dangerous" for U.S. Economy; Loretta Lynch Press Conference on Orlando Shooting; Photo Shows Child, 3, Practicing School Lockdown. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 21, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:09] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

From not releasing his tax returns, to his companies bankruptcies, today, Hillary Clinton telling supporters at a rally in the swing state of Ohio why a Donald Trump presidency would be dangerous -- that's her word -- dangerous for the U.S. economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Just like he shouldn't have his finger on the button, his shouldn't have his hand on our economy.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I am joined by Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, of Alabama. He was the first Senator to endorse Mr. Trump.

Senator Sessions, an honor to have you on, sir. Welcome.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, (R), ALABAMA: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So let's just get straight to Hillary Clinton's speech. Specifically, again, she hit Trump on tax returns suggesting, in essence, he's hiding something for not releasing them or perhaps she went a step further and said maybe he's not worth as much as he says he is. Mark Cuban added to that force today. He said that the Trump campaign will not self-fund because he doesn't actually just have the cash. Are they right, Senator?

SESSIONS: Well, I don't think so and he's done the disclosure he's required, which is monumental. I've got to tell you, you have to show all of your investments and income sources and that kind of thing. Trump has done what the law requires. But what he does and where he is, he understands what the problems with this economy are. Income today is $4,000 less per household median income than it was in 1999. Eight years of Obama leadership and Clinton leadership has led us in the wrong way and she continues to go back as president.

BALDWIN: So, Senator, do you think, then, with all of those motions, everything in motion that we will see tax returns from Mr. Trump?

SESSIONS: Well, I don't know whether he will or not. He certainly has no obligation to do so.

BALDWIN: Will he self-fund?

SESSIONS: Well, he can make up his own mind of that.

BALDWIN: Do you think he should, though?

SESSIONS: I would just say this. Votes Trumps money. That's a phrase I used to use before he got the nomination. But if you are appealing to the American people and you got their votes, you don't need as much money. He spent a fraction of his opponents in the primaries and he dispatched every one of them, 16 of them. So it's not so much money.

BALDWIN: But, Senator --

SESSIONS: The key to winning is a message that the American people believe will lift their lives and make the economy better.

BALDWIN: Kudos to the Trump campaign for doing as well as they did with that in the last couple of months but we're turning to a different part of this campaign where you do really need quite a bit of pennies, nickels and dollars. In terms of fundraising problems, we know that he's vowing to match donations. He announced that he's vowing to match donations for the next $48 with a cap at $2 million, dollar for dollar. Would you call that stunt?

SESSIONS: No. I think he's beginning to raise money. I hope he will raise money and it's a good thing to do. Saying to you is this an unusual year. People are less focused on these paid ads that they don't believe any way. It was like water off a duck's back. It didn't stick. His message got through. The key for him, can his message get through that bad trade deals are impacting American working people. Inflation rate is way too high and needs to be reduced. Americans working --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Forgive me, Senator. We have to go Orlando. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is speaking now.

[14:35:14] LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: -- million dollars in emergency funding available to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The state will be able to apply for these funds on behalf of Orlando and other affected jurisdictions. And we will move quickly to make this award as soon as possible. We are also offering emergency counseling resources to first responders to help them deal with the trauma that they, too, experienced. Because if their bravery, they shoulder the dangers that are visited upon all of us and carry that weight long after the smoke has cleared. And we will continue to make any and all resources available to them as this investigation unfolds. The Department of Justice is determined to do anything that we can to

help this community heal, to recover and become whole again. Our office for victims of crime and the FBI office for victim assistance have already worked with local, state and federal officials and community groups to set up a family assistance center. In the center, service providers are on the ground providing crisis counseling and other critical support and we are also making federal emergency funds and victim compensation funding available to cover, for example, familiar lea travel expenses, medical and other issues related to this tragedy. We have crisis response on the team to meet the needs of victims and the community.

Now, there is no doubt that this was a shattering attack on our nation and on our people and on our country. But the message of Orlando goes far behind one night of unspeakable terror. The message of Orlando that I have seen today and what the American people have seen in the wake of this horrific assault is a message of determination to live our lives freely and without fear and to stay true to the principles of liberty, justice and equality that define America at our best.

And I'm deeply proud of the way first responders have gone above and beyond their duty here. I'm deeply moved by the way that this community and our national community has stood together in support of one another in defiance of terror and in defense of our most cherished ideals.

And let us be clear, those ideals include the understanding that our diversity makes us stronger and that no matter who we are, what we look like, where we are from, who we love, this extraordinary nation belongs to us all.

I know the LGBT community in particular, has been shaken by this attack. It is indeed a cruel irony that a community defined almost exclusively by whom they love is a target of hate. Let me say to our LGBT friends and family, particularly anyone who might view this tragedy as an indication that their identities, that their essential selves might somehow be better left in the shadows. This Department of Justice and your country stands with you in the light. We stand with you to say that the good in the world far outweighs the evil, that our common humanity transcends our differences. And our response to hatred is compassion, unity and love. We stand with you today as we grieve together. And long after the cameras are gone, we will continue to stand with you as we grow together in commitment, solidarity and in equality.

Once again, I want to thank all of my colleagues for the outstanding work over the past week. And I want to express my gratitude for all that they and our partners on the ground have done here and will continue to do to move our efforts forward. And want to pledge the ongoing support of the Department of Justice and the entire Obama administration as we work to ensure the safety and the security of all Americans.

Thank you all.

And at this point in time, I'd be happy to take a few questions. Let me start here and then I'll go to this lady in the front.

So, gentleman.

[14:39:57] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Director Comey said that the FBI twice investigated the gunman for possible ties and you closed the files. Did the FBI miss the warning signs?

LYNCH: We're looking at all of that. As you note, this individual, Mateen, came under investigation a few years ago himself because of his own actions and his own statements. He was investigated, we looked to see whether he was going to carry out the acts because of the statements that he was making, he didn't and the case was closed. And then someone that he knew had traveled overseas to become a suicide bomber and he was interviewed then, but was not directly involved in that matter. We are going back and looking at contacts with him as we are asking people to look back to their contacts with him as well to see what, if anything, we could have done better.

This lady here.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you tell me whether his family is cooperating with the investigators and do you have a timeline of when a decision might be made about charging or not charging possible family members? Say is that this investigation is active, it is open, it is ongoing. And we are seeking to talk, as I mentioned before, anyone who knew Mateen and might be able to shed light on his motivations, his actions, on anything else about him. So at this point, we're not discussing other individuals except to say that we are everyone as much as we can so at this point we're not going to provide that information at the time. I'm going to go to the gentleman in the back and then the lady in the front.

LYNCH: No.

You, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you open to releasing the members say that's crucial to them and the governor said he would like to have that as well. Are you open to doing that?

LYNCH: We are. We've released some of the transcripts of the calls. When we have a situation like this, as we did in San Bernardino, where the killer was deceased, we're able to provide more information than we are often able to do when the matter is being handled in court as part of a court investigation where we are limited by the rules of evidence and what's limited in court. We are looking to be as transparent as possible and provide as much information as possible. Over the course of time, we are certainly open to that. I can't tell you when or in what context but I can tell you that.

The lady in front of you.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) -- the bureau deserve blame for missing something? LYNCH: As I said, we're going to go back and look at all of our

contact with him and see if there's anything that we either missed or could or should have done differently. As indicated, the first investigation involved him and his own statements and the issue, as always, is an individual going to act on any statements that might indicate violence? And so a full investigation was done there. The other investigation was with someone else and did not involve his own actions and did not indicate that he was headed towards a violent act at that time. We are going to go back and look at all of that.

And I'm going to come to this lady and then right behind you.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How many shots were fired (INAUDIBLE)?

At this point, we are still going through that. We have gathered a great deal of evidence. We're looking to get the answers to those questions. Because this is still under review, I don't have that information for you.

Right behind you.

Yes, Miss.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) the Obama administration did deny a state of emergency for Florida. Why was that?

LYNCH: I think you're referring to something for the Orlando area, not the state?

Yes, yes. That involved the Homeland Security assessment of another type of funding. I'm not able to comment on that but I do think we have provided a great deal of assistance over the years. I believe just last year there in fact was a simulated exercise of an incident just like this that people in Florida, law enforcement in Florida carried out in conjunction with federal authorities that went a great way towards improving information and the like.

I'm going to go right behind you to this gentleman and then this gentleman over here.

So, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) -- his wife did not know about the attack, what more could she have done to stop it?

LYNCH: We're not going to speak about anyone else's role because we're not going to be able to provide that conclusion at this point in time. As I said, we're trying to learn everything that we can about Mateen in the days and weeks and months leading up to this attack. So we're looking into everything.

And there's a gentleman here.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

[14:45:15] LYNCH: Well, as you have seen, there have been reports about that. In fact, it was in connection with another investigation. The gun shop owner was interviewed about another matter. And during the course of talking to federal agents he mentioned that an individual had come into his shop that he deemed to be somewhat suspicious. It was Mr. Mateen, although, he didn't make a purchase, didn't buy anything or leave any I.D., there was no way to determine who that individual was, and it was only after the tragic events of last weekend that the gun shop owner realized who that individual was and, of course, provided that information as well. And that is -- and we commend him for that and thank him for that. Again, we're gathering all of the information that we can. Mr. Mateen went to a different gun shop and made purchases that he used that night. You've already asked a question. I'm going to go to the lady right next to you and the gentleman in the blue shirt.

Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The phrase, if you see something, say something, have you (INAUDIBLE)?

LYNCH: We're gathering all the information. I'm not going to be able to give you a full readout on that because we're still processing everything.

Sir?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

LYNCH: Well, we are hoping to get the funds out as quickly as possible. That would be $1 million that would help the Florida Department of Law Enforcement deal directly with Orlando's needs and over jurisdiction's needs to cover the overtime costs and issues here. We're continuing the emergency both the victims and first responders and those will be ongoing.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

LYNCH: Well, at this point in time, again, we're taking all information in. I believe that everyone is involved in trying to process the resources that we have sent out. But if additional needs are we'll identify them.

Miss?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Could you clarify the timeline before the attack. He went to the club within two hours before the attack and then came back. Is that accurate? Also, what can you tell us about plane tickets that were purchased for his family to go to San Francisco after the attack?

LYNCH: I'm not going to be able to comment on those right now because, again, we're still putting all of that together as a timeline. We hope to be able to provide as much information as possible. I'm not able to give that you answer right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about the video before the attack at a gun range? LYNCH: At a gun range?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There's a video of him using the assault rifle, practicing.

LYNCH: Again, I'll have to ask the local investigators to confirm that with you. There was a lot of video out there and we are trying to, again, provide as much information as we can so I'll ask one of the local investigators to confirm or let you know about that.

And this gentleman in the back, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The phone calls that he made, 16, I believe, in the last few moments, he apparently had a good-bye call to somebody. Will we ever know who all of those callers were and have they all been interviewed?

LYNCH: We're working to identify anyone that he had contact with that night up to and obviously including any kind of electronic communication that he had and we're still processing all of that information as well. I'm going to go to this gentleman here.

Yes? This gentleman.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has your investigation found out if he cased out other areas in the Orlando area and his interest of joining the Florida law enforcement academy several times.

LYNCH: Well, he had a job as a security guard and I believe he had expressed an interest in joining law enforcement. We're still tracking all of that down. With respect to his interest or involvement or attendance at gay clubs, that's been reported. We're following every lead. I'm not able to give you a conclusive answer at this time.

I'm going to go to this gentleman here.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Omar Mateen -- (INAUDIBLE QUESTION) -- exam?

LYNCH: I'm sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did Omar Mateen have HIV in the autopsy?

LYNCH: I don't have that information for you. I'm sorry.

Ultimately, we are trying to obtain the autopsy reports for everyone who lost their lives, the victims will probably come first, and ultimately his on the information there. We will see if we can release those.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has his body been released to his family?

[14:50:08] LYNCH: I don't know the answer to that at this point.

There was a lady in the back.

Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will you ever be able to fully understand the motivation for this?

LYNCH: Whenever you look at somebody's motivation or intent, whether they are living or dead, you look at their actions and activities surrounding the event. You look at what they said, what they did, how they behaved, and most reasonable interpretation, the one that fits the facts there. As we continue to build a timeline and a chronology and to build his life that we will be able to determine this. I cannot tell you definitively that we will ever narrow it down to one motivation. People often act out of more than one motivation. This is clearly an act of terror and hate. We will look at all motivations and hope to come to a conclusion there.

I'm going to go to someone who has not asked a question and then I'll come back to you and this lady.

Sir?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is a grand jury being used in this case?

LYNCH: I'm not going to comment on whether a grand jury is being used. We don't comment on the investigative techniques but we are looking at everything, I can tell you that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has his wife left the state of Florida?

LYNCH: I'm sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the shooter's wife left the state of Florida?

LYNCH: Right now, I don't know the answer to that. I believe she was going to travel but I don't know exactly her location now. So there's a young lady here who has not asked a question, a gentleman in the back who has not asked a question.

So this young lady.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are people still in the shot -- (INAUDIBLE)

LYNCH: We don't know the trajectory of all the bullets that were used in the club. We are still reconstructing where all of the bullets traveled and how all of the victims died. We'll find it out. It will be part of the information that will be made available to you. We don't have the answers because we have not finished that assessment.

There's a gentleman all the way in the back who hasn't asked.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There is a lot of talk about home-grown and domestic terrorism. Going forward, how is the Justice Department going to help protect the citizens of this country from something that isn't as foreign sounding from the ocean somewhere right here in our neighborhood, in our town? LYNCH: You know, we have spoken about our concerns about home-grown

extremists for some time now with all sorts of motivations and reasons for what they do. While it's a challenge, it's one that we will continue to investigate and continue to try and prevent. We try and identify individuals who express them to different views and lead them to violence you are looking to act on that.

We ask people who know individuals to alert us to concerns that they may have. In many of the cases that we do investigate of home-grown extremists, we find when we look back over the entire investigation, that at some point, someone was aware of a change or had a concern and noticed something out of the ordinary. So we rely on the public and family members, to a great extent.

We also have to think about how do we deal with the fact that because we do have a free and open society and we have to have that, that violent jihadist ideology is easily consumed by individuals who are led down a path to take certain actions. And how do we break that chain and interject some sort of point there that leads them into a different path? How do we connect with those individuals? We're looking at all of those things.

I'm sorry for those who didn't -- I tried to get everyone who didn't get to ask a question. I'm sorry for those of you who didn't.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: No-fly, no-buy concept -- (INAUDIBLE)

LYNCH: We've expressed the department's support, I particular, for the Feinstein Amendment that would give the department -- there would be two very important tools. The ability to stop the sale of someone on the no-fly list as well as the ability, should a person challenge that, because they would have that right as well, to litigate that matter in a way that protects our sensitive, secure and classified information. So those are the two concerns that we have always had with that. And we're grateful that Congress is looking at addressing those concerns and trying to close this particular loophole for terrorists.

Thank you.

BALDWIN: Just at the end, she was referring to Republican Senator Susan Collins' measure which will be unveiled today. The four gun measures did not pass yesterday on Capitol Hill.

Loretta Lynch speaking there in Orlando. The U.S. attorney general there telling everyone that they have offered up a million dollars to help Florida law enforcement in this investigation. Not able to say a lot because they are just days into this investigation.

There are new details today, though, what we have learned about the gunman in the hours and the day before he murdered all of those sweet, innocent people. We will have that for you at the top of the next hour.

[14:55:25] But let me get to this photo. A photo of a little girl has been shared thousands and thousands of times. Here it is. This is all because of a connection to the Orlando shootings.

The mother of this 3-year-old snapped this picture thinking she's got her daughter in a cute moment. The mom writing on Facebook explained, "I took this picture because initially I thought it was funny. I was going to send it to my husband to show what our mischievous little 3- year-old was up to. However, the moment she told me what she was doing, I broke down. She was practicing for a lockdown drill at her preschool and what you should do if you are struck in a bathroom."

The mom is with us, Stacey Feeley, the one who snapped the picture.

Stacey, thanks for being with me.

Take me back to the moment that you saw this little girl doing this.

STACEY FEELEY, MOTHER OF 3 YEAR OLD PRACTICING SCHOOL LOCKDOWN: I honestly thought she was playing and she's a toddler and, you know, they do all sorts of crazy things. I just thought she was kind of goofing around and I thought, oh, my gosh, I'll send a picture to my husband and show what she's been up to today and then when I learned what she was actually doing, I just was floored. I couldn't believe it.

BALDWIN: How would s explain that to you in her 3-year-old language?

FEELEY: So she just said, I'm doing lockdown drill. And the school is very good about telling us that they will be doing and participating in some of those drills but just -- in that moment, you know, I knew that she had walked through those at class but I had never seen it with my own eyes and I couldn't believe it and she had, are you happy about it? And she showed me what she's supposed to do and the thought, it just broke me.

BALDWIN: You think about college students, maybe high school, you know, in elementary school, I remember doing tornado drills and that's about it. Your heart as a mother sinks that in his day and age your little girl is cognizant of what is happening?

FEELEY: Yeah, it did. You know, she -- I don't think -- and especially because she's only 3, maybe some of her older siblings know more about what this actually means, but for her, this is very much routine. They do a routine that they do, but today in the world we live in, this is something that is so common to them and will be a part of their lives. It's heartbreaking. It's definitely a changing world.

BALDWIN: Do you think, though, that, you know, preschool-aged kids should be doing active shooter drills?

FEELEY: Well, see, I know from what schools tell you is that they do drills. They don't talk about guns. They don't talk about active shooters, even. What they talk about is what you do if someone who is not supposed to be in the building is there. And -- and I -- I think that what's crazy is that our educators are acting as security guards for our children. I think that's a sign of the times that is just ridiculous. You know, why would anybody be OK with our teachers having to take on the burden of also being a security guard for our kids and applaud the schools for doing what they can in case of these kinds of circumstances.

But at the same time, you know, they try to also do it so that the children, you know, as they walk through it, aren't terrified and, you know, like my 3-year-old, she doesn't realize the scale of it. But at the same time, you know, she knows that if someone is in the building that's not supposed to be there, you know, this is how she hides to protect herself.

BALDWIN: 3 years of age.

Stacey, thanks for sharing.

BALDWIN: Sure. Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You got it

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BALDWIN: All right, let's continue on. Top of the hour. Breaking news here on CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Investigators retracing the steps of the Orlando killer in the Orlando nightmare massacre. CNN has learned that the shooter bought three plane tickets for himself, for his wife and for his small child, just one day before he murdered all of those dozens of people. Law enforcement also revealing what the killer did the night of the attack.

CNN's justice correspondent, Evan Perez, has all of these details.

Evan, let's begin with the plane tickets.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, these were plane tickets that were bought for him to go from West Palm Beach to San Francisco.