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Report: FBI Says Bombing Suspect Not a Threat In 2014; Angelina Jolie Files for Divorce. Obama Makes Impassioned Plea for Refugees; Clinton Preps for Debates. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 20, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's the suspect's father speaking to reporters in New Jersey. He said the he called the FBI when his son was acting violently. The FBI released a statement and Evan Perez has it. What did the FBI say regarding that incident?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They're putting clarity as to what happened back in 2014 when the suspect was arrested as part of a domestic violence situation, an altercation among the family including which he stabbed one of the brothers. And so there's been a misunderstanding as to whether or not the father reported his son as a terrorist which apparently he made statements.

The FBI says -- we have a statement from the FBI they said "In August, 2014, the FBI took a statement based on comments made by his father after a domestic dispute reported to authorities. The FBI conducted internal database reviews, interagency checks and multiple interviews none of which revealed ties to terrorism."

I think one of the issues here, Brooke, is the question of whether or not the FBI could have done something back in 2014 when this incident occurred. The father was heard at the time by neighbors to say something to the effect of my son is a terrorist, he was concerned at the time his son was hanging out with criminal elements.

He recanted this. He said he didn't mean it, it was heat of the moment, the FBI did initial checks but he was in jail, the charges were dropped and the FBI walked away thinking this was a domestic incident that didn't add up to much. Then we have the incidents that happened over the weekend.

BALDWIN: Also quickly over the weekend following up on the wife who we've known from your reporting took off from Pakistan just a couple days before the attacks.

PEREZ: She did leave and the FBI was trying to figure out where she was and to talk to her, so we understand today she did go into the embassy in the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, and spoke to U.S. investigators and gave a statement.

BALDWIN: She did?

PEREZ: Providing some cooperation to them. We don't know if she's still there or returned to Pakistan. There's been a little bit of opaqueness about where her whereabouts are but the FBI is satisfied she is trying to assist in the investigation. She can help frankly put a little bit of clarity into what she saw, whether she saw her husband turning in a certain manner, whether she saw him making bombs. All of these things she could provide clarity to. We'd love to know what she said. We don't know yet.

BALDWIN: Not yet. Evan Perez, thank you so much.

Coming up next, a member of the Kennedy family says Bush 41, president George H. W. Bush, is voting for Hillary Clinton. Hear why some in his camp are reportedly furious, this just six days before the first presidential debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is unqualified to be president.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment.

CLINTON: The scams, the fraud.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton has evaded justice!

CLINTON: He is unqualified to be president.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment.

CLINTON: The scams, the fraud.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton has evaded justice!

CLINTON: He clearly has something to hide.

TRUMP: Her conduct is disqualified!

Clinton, Trump, head to head for the first time on the same stage. The first presidential debate live on Monday, September 26. All-day coverage on CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: One of the world's most famous couples is calling it quits. Have you heard that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married in 2014 and now she's filing for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. They have a total of six kids. In a statement to CNN Brad Pitt said this "I am very saddened by this but what matters most now is the well-being of our kids."

With me now, the deputy editor of "People" magazine and the author of "Divorce, Protect Yourself, Your Kids and Your Future." He also represented clients in celebrity divorce cases including the ex-wife of Usher. All right, so nice to have both of you on. J. D., let me begin with you. I know this is one of those Hollywood couples, not a lot of people saw this coming, what the heck happened?

J.D. HEYMAN, DEPUTY EDITOR, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: That's the big question, right? They were together not just for the two years of their marriage but 12 years and they have six children. It's a shock. Those who know them know how devoted they are to their family and while they are not like typical married people because they are movie stars. It takes a lot to break up a marriage like this. I'll let your legal expert talk about the filings but people are wondering why now, why so quickly and a lot of people scratching their heads as to whether this was sudden.

BALDWIN: Six kids, she wants sole physical custody and would allow for visitations. Can you walk us through how complicated that is? Whether this was sudden.

RANDY KESSLER, CELEBRITY DIVORCE ATTORNEY: You see everything across the board. They could file because she was going to be in town and she had to deal with it or because he said something that irritated her. What I think is she's got a really good lawyer, Laura Walsh. I'm sure her lawyer tried to work it out with Brad Pitt.

[15:40:00] Obviously the couldn't reach an agreement beforehand. They have more to lose by a big public nasty divorce than the court will do with their money, so they disagree about the kids. I don't think she is going to keep the kids from him just because she wants primary custody or physical custody, that's a starting point but she's not saying he should be supervised or limited because of bad conduct so we'll see how it unfolds but it will solve itself. I don't think we'll see a trial.

HEYMAN: I wouldn't think so. I mean, these are two grown-up people who are devoted to these kids and they made it clear in certainly in the first few hours of this that they Are going to put them firs. And as you say it's not clear as to when you check a box on a form what you're trying to do here. Just to make it clear they'll share custody of these children and whether domiciled or not, these are people who move all over the world, there can be all kinds of reasons for that but they're making the signal that they'll be civilized about this, for sure.

BALDWIN: She's quoted in a "Vogue" article from last year talking about the importance of family, "I'm happy to be home, I want to really focus on my children doing the best I can to guide and protect them before they're out of the house. These are their most important years. J. D., we all remember, of course, his famous marriage before to Jennifer Aniston. The internet is the internet. The memes have begun. How did Angelina and Brad meet.

HEYMAN: Famously at work and there was a lot of tabloid coverage of the fact that they met while making "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" together, and the public at large has a perception of how the drama played out. I think that all the people involved with that are grown-ups and they've moved on, but of course if you are you're a public figure you want to be conscious of how people perceive.

One assumes that before they took any moves about separating, they wanted to make sure they weren't repeating some kind of story that gets turned over and over again. And the main awareness is to make sure your children are OK. So I think that is really what is driving this. So I'm sure that anyone can relate. If you have a family, if you have children, if you're married, splitting up a marriage is difficult in ordinary circumstances and these aren't ordinary people so there was a lot of thought put into this I'm sure.

BALDWIN: We wish them well in peace and privacy. J. D. and Randy, thank you so much.

Thank you. Today the Wells Fargo CEO said he was sorry after his employees created millions of fake accounts with real customers' information. But it's not enough for lawmakers like senator Elizabeth Warren. Hear why she says that CEO should end up in jail.

[15:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: President Obama is speaking at the U.N. on refugees.

BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... who are at the mercy of criminals who pack them into trucks or makeshift rafts and who die on treacherous seas like the little boy from Syria, lifeless face down on a Turkish beach in his red shirt and blue pants. We are here right now because there are mothers separated from their children like a woman in a camp in Greece who held on to her family photographs, heard her children cry on the phone and who said "my breath is my children. Every day I am dying 10, 20, 30 times."

We're here because their fathers who simply want to build a new life like the man from Syria who lost his wife and daughter in the war. Who we welcomed to America and who says I still think I have a chance to make a difference in the world. The secretary general, heads of government, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen as you saw in the video we are facing a crisis of epic proportions. More than 65 million people have been driven from their homes which is more than any time since the second world war. Among them are more than 21 million refugees who have fled their countries.

Anyone and everything they've ever owned fleeing with a suitcase or the clothes on their back as I'm here today, I called this summit, because this crisis is one of the most urgent tests of our time, our capacity for collective action. It tests first and foremost our ability to end conflicts because so many of the world's refugee come from just three countries at war -- Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

And I said today to the general assembly the mentality that allows for this is something we cannot excuse and collectively we cannot continue to make excuses. It's not the subject of this summit but we all know that what is happening in Syria is unacceptable. And we are not a unified as we should be in pushing to make it stop.

It's a test of our international system where all nations ought to share in our collective responsibilities because the vast majority of refugees are hosted by just ten countries who are bearing a very heavy burden. Among them Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, countries that often have fewer resources than many of those. It's a crisis of our shared security. Not because refugees are a

threat. Refugees, most of whom are women and children, are often fleeing war and terrorism, they are victims. Their families who want to be safe and to work, be good citizens and contribute to their country I was talking to a woman in Germany, she already speaks some English, now she's trying to learn German, who are interested in assimilating and contributing to the society in which they find themselves.

In recent years in the United States we worked to put in intensive screening and security checks so that we can welcome refugees and ensure our security. In fact, refugees are subject to more vigorous screening than the average tourist. We've seen refugees start new businesses and help revitalize communities. I believe refugees can make us stronger.

[15:50:00] Desperate refugees pay coldhearted traffickers for passage. When nations find themselves hosting massive refugee populations for years on end, it can risk more instability. It oftentimes surfaces tensions in our society when we have disorderly and disproportionate migration into some countries that skews our politics and is subject to demagoguery. And, if we were to turn refugees away simply because of their background or religion or, for example, because they are Muslim, then we would be reinforcing terrorist propaganda, that nations like my own are somehow opposed to Islam.

Which is an ugly lie that must be rejected in all of our countries by upholding the values of pluralism in adversity. Finally, this crisis is a test of our common humanity. Whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls or whether we see ourselves in another. Those girls --

BALDWIN: President of the United States speaking at the United Nations. It's UNGA week here in Manhattan. You heard him just say refugees can make us stronger. On the opposite end of the spectrum of the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, you heard the reference again today to walls. They're in very different places when it comes to refugees globally, especially from these war-torn nations and what to do.

Michelle Kosinski is our white house correspondent. She is outside the United Nations. The president calling for a course correction and asking for more global cooperation. Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You see how big an issue this has become politically in the United States. So whenever president of the United States now speaks on this -- and he convened this summit -- you see how much impact he tries to make his words have.

Sometimes he makes reference to some of the things that have been said in America over this. But this is a global meeting with real goals, to have countries contribute more money, step up, for things like not just immediate aid to refugee populations. And you heard the president say there are now 65 million displaced people around the world. But also provide things like job training, jobs themselves, education

for children. Obviously the need is great but president Obama also takes criticism on this issue because he is trying to get countries to step up and take more refugees when the United States, in this present fiscal year, has taken in only 14,000 Syrian refugees.

You see countries like Germany, Turkey, Jordan, take in more than a million each. So there has been plenty of questioning over the administration's policies, why hasn't the wealthy United States taken in many, many more. I mean, politics has something to do with that, the lengthy vetting process that refugees have to go through.

So president Obama really has to balance it out. He likes to emphasize how much more money than other countries the United States has contributed to humanitarian aid and just the effort that goes into trying to get countries together to contribute more. That's what he wants to see happen here.

BALDWIN: Michelle, thank you so much in downtown Manhattan at the U.N.

Breaking news, the bombing suspect in the New York and New Jersey incidents. New reaction now from the FBI, what the agency knew about the what we also now know about the suspect's wife back in a moment.

[15:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Six days, count them with me, six days until the first presidential debate. What's the scoop? How are both candidates preparing? Let's go to Jeff Zeleny and our Washington bureau chief for the Daily Beast. You had the scoop. I read your piece on CNN.com on how Hillary Clinton is sitting there, watching the latest and greatest highlights from the primaries and the debates. What are they looking for?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It's a little bit of Donald Trump 101. Trying to familiarize herself with everything he's done. The positions on various issues, trying to hone in on everything he's said.

If the debate moderators are not playing the role of fact-checkers as much as other years, she may have to do that herself, I'm told. So she wants to be in the weeds, in Donald Trump's mind, also trying to find out what may have gotten under his skin. We saw the moments with Ted Cruz during the primary debates. She is watching those very carefully.

And she is doing debate prep this afternoon I am told at her home, she is reading and studying. She'll do it a lot between now and Monday. She has one campaign event tomorrow in Florida. Otherwise, it's debate prep.

BALDWIN: As far as Donald Trump is concerned, he said not doing the mock debates. He doesn't want to appear scripted. He wants to be authentic. JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU, DAILY BEAST, AND CNN POLITICAL

ANALYST: It is actually really interesting, he is sounding a lot like he did for the Republican debates. He told Bill O'Reilly last night, if she was nice to him he would be nice to her. But that he wasn't afraid to go there.

He sort of outlined it but sort of didn't. Like we saw in the Republican debates. Maybe people should go back, look at the DVR and see what he did last time. Because it sounds like it is going to be a lot that again.

BALDWIN: She is prepared. It could be anything from Monica to marriage to e-mails.

ZELENY: She is. He likes to throw a punch. Often he has waited to see how someone else reacts to him, but she is prepared for all of those moments. How did you treat Monica Lewinsky 20 years ago? Why did you not respond on e-mails?

But one thing that Donald Trump is doing, he sent out a survey, I just got a second ago, asking for his supporters for the Trump debate preparation survey. Do you think Trump should refer to Hillary as crooked Hillary on stage? A bit of a game. But he is asking his supporters how he should react?

BALDWIN: Do you have to put your e-mail in there and all your information.

ZELENY: Of course. Of course.

KUCINICH: I have been getting a lot of Trump e-mail.

BALDWIN: We're all on these lists. What will you be watching for? 60 seconds.

KUCINICH: To the extent they can both talk about their message at all will be interesting.

BALDWIN: Versus like talking over?

KUCINICH: Donald Trump was saying a lot he'd counter Hillary over and over again. So if they not go back and forth and actually talk about their messages will be interesting see. They both will say that's what they want to do.

BALDWIN: Do we know yet who is playing Trump in her mock debates?

ZELENY: We don't. I do not know. They believe that there will be millions of new people watching this who have not tuned in. That's what they're so mindful of. Everything might be redo, rehash. But I hope they don't lose like I'm doing right now.

BALDWIN: You have been chasing them around the country. We're almost there. 49 days away. Jackie and Jeff, thank you so much. So much more on all of this coming up now in Washington because "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.