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Report: Girl Hurt in Air Strike Calls I Want My Mommy; WH Not Worried Flynn Could Implicate Trump; Senate Source Says Unlikely to Accept Flynn Immunity. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 31, 2017 - 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: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. When a neighborhood becomes the front line of a war zone, apartment buildings become barracks and sidewalks become mine fields and the people who live there become rescue workers digging their friends and family out of the rubble, these are just some of the images in Mosul and Iraq. Nearly two weeks since this happened, bodies are still being recovered. A CNN crew in Iraq visited some of the survivors in an area hospital. I'll show you pictures of this little girl. This is Halara. She is 4 years old, has a broken leg and doctors say she may never see again. She was pulled out of the rubble by her father not knowing she had lost her mom. She could be heard crying out, I want my mommy. Her grandmother talked to our correspondent in Iraq, Arwa Damon, as she cradled the little girl in her arms.

For those who do make it out alive, refugee camps are often their only option. These are pictures from the camp just 15 miles from the front line run by the Norwegian Refugee Council and the media coordinator just returned from the camp. Melany, thank you for joining me. We have to keep talking about this and shining a spotlight on those leaving Mosul. Can you just tell me some stories of what these families, these children are telling you when they arrive?

MELANY MARKHAM, MEDIA COORDINATOR, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Honestly, Brooke, it feels like every family has a harrowing story to tell. We met one woman who had shrapnel -- her legs were covered in shrapnel wounds and she had lost three children in the blast that caused those wounds. I spoke to her mother two days ago, who lost her son. She had escaped with the daughter but her other four children were trapped inside Mosul with her husband and she had no idea if they were dead or alive. So, with thousands of people turning up every day and every person having a story like that, it's difficult to describe the magnitude of suffering.

[15:35:00] BALDWIN: Do they -- in sharing their stories, do they talk at all about ISIS? Do they talk about the terrorists using them as human shields or booby trapping homes or snipers on homes? Do you hear any of that?

MARKHAM: They do. The woman I spoke to two days ago, described how her home had been destroyed by a car bomb. I can only assume that that was a coalition attack. But one man who had escaped Mosul told us that his home had been invaded by ISIS and they said we will all die together. BALDWIN: Melany, continue doing what you're doing. Thank you so

much. Please be safe.

MARKHAM: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Let's get back to our breaking news. The fired national security adviser General Michael Flynn wants immunity. The President agrees and wants him to testify. The question is, will he get it?

But first, in the city of Chicago, violence knows no age limit and this week's CNN hero Jennifer Maddox is on the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER MADDOX, POLICE OFFICER, CHICAGO: We are in a state of emergency here in the city of Chicago. The shooting, the killing. 5, 6, 7-year-olds are losing people that they love and care about. I'm a law enforcement officer but I'm also a mother and a member of this community. We can't arrest our way out of this. Once I saw that there was another side to policing, I thought that I could do more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Good for her. If you'd like to read more about her and other CNN heroes, go to cnnheroes.com and please nominate someone you think will be worthy. We'll be right back.

[15:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Breaking news, the white house weighing in moments ago, saying President Trump's former National Security Adviser General Michael Flynn should indeed testify and they are not concerned about him revealing concerning or damning information. He says he will tell them what he knows about any alleged connections with regard to the Trump campaign and Russia in exchange for being granted this immunity and not being prosecuted. Let's discuss this with two former white house national security council officials who know each other quite well. Nancy served with bill Clinton and former ambassador to the U.N. and a former member of the counsel under President Reagan. Great to see you all. Mr. Ambassador, if I may begin with you, hearing the statement from General Flynn's attorney essentially saying he has a story to tell, how unprecedented is it to say something like that and to be very public about it?

NANCY SODERBERG: FORMER DEPUTY NAT'L SECURITY ADVISER: If you're looking for immunity from prosecution, it's not that uncommon. These situations are rare. This is Alice in wonderland with new investigations coming one after another. So, it's extraordinary that this is happening. You have where's the money with the Russians funding Donald Trump's business, was Jared Kushner meeting with officials to talk about something odd, were the Russians colluding with the President Trump and what did he know and when did he know all of this. Of course, they are going to say tell the truth. There's clearly criminal issues here that will come out in these investigations. The irony of Michael Flynn also saying these things, given his previous conversations about locking Hillary up and those who pleaded or asked for immunity had committed a crime, you couldn't write this stuff if you were write aggregate fiction novel.

BALDWIN: He did say that last September, essentially saying if you ask for immunity, you've committed a crime. We know the Senate at least so far has said it's too early to decide on granting immunity but saying that it's unlikely. What do you think?

RAYMOND TANTER, FORMER NAT'L SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL: Well, to Nancy Soderberg's point, immunity is unlikely to be granted. I listened to don king's show this morning and carol lee was on it. And then I heard Eli Lake and they presented a very firm case that General Flynn is unable to tell the truth and it reminds me of the Churchillian statement that truth gets halfway around the world before -- a lie gets halfway around the world before truth can get his or her pants on. The bottom line is simply that General Flynn is unable to tell the truth and, therefore, there are no takers for the general to get immunity, Brooke.

BALDWIN: But this should be about the truth, Nancy. And I was talking to lawyers and former DOJ people and they were essentially saying potentially, you know, if they get information from General Flynn, then that can -- they say that could cause him to roll over, give more information on a bigger fish.

SODERBERG: Of course, he can tell the truth. He's trying to keep himself out of jail. But what Michael Flynn -- his problems are, first and foremost, that he did not convey the truth to Mike Pence, the Vice President, about his contacts with the Russians.

BALDWIN: And then he got fired.

SODERBERG: And he also -- and this is what is likely to be linked to this immunity, he also probably told that same story to the FBI which was not full disclosure, which is a felony. And we don't know why the FBI was tapping into phones in Trump tower but the only way to do that is if there's a crime committed. So, there's all these links, like a spider web, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Russian ambassador, now Jared Kushner. And so there are three investigations right now and there's likely to be an independent one. So, it's just one shoe dropping after another and the administration needs to put this story out, what did they know, when did they know it, go through this as quickly as they can or it's going to be just drip, drip, drip for years.

These things take a long time. The more the administration holds back, the worse it gets and the crime is never in the original action. It's always in the cover-up. And every official knows that when they go in and they keep making the same mistake and I hope this administration doesn't fall into that trap. They need to put the story out, what was the relationship with the Russians, what is the relationship with Donald Trump and the banking system, how much have the Russians been lending to -- it's all going to come out. The sooner they do it, the better they can stop this and get back to why they are there, which is to govern and fix the country's problems.

BALDWIN: Sure. 71 days in, 71 days in. I'll just leave it there. Raymond, Nancy, thank you so much to both of you. Thank you so much. Straight ahead here on CNN, we'll talk to our senior international

correspondent Clarissa Ward who sat down with a young man once an altar boy who became a soldier for ISIS. It's a new documentary, "ISIS Behind the Mask."

[15:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: He was raised catholic, even served as an altar boy while being raised in had a middle-class family in Belgium. Now he's 28. He's a veteran is fighter who regrets leaving the fight. He is the subject of a fascinating new documentary that airs tonight here on CNN. Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He named one of his sons Osama. Did you name him after Bin Laden?

FORMER ISIS FIGHTER FROM BELGIUM: Yes.

WARD: You did?

FORMER ISIS FIGHTER: Yes, and I'm proud of it.

WARD: Why?

FORMER ISIS FIGHTER: Because the man is a hero. What's the problem with that?

WARD: Oh, he killed 3,000 people at a very conservative estimate.

FORMER ISIS FIGHTER: If we have to condemn everybody who kills people, how will -- hell will be full.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wow. Senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward is with me now. Jaw, pull it back up. I mean, are you kidding me? He's saying this, not masked. How did you land this interview? Tell me more about this.

WARD: I mean, Eunice is an exceptional case because he provides a very rare and unfiltered and that is the key word unfiltered look at the mindset of a western jihadi who has come back from is and unrepentant about his time there and would even like to go back. We do see hundreds of is fighters from Europe who have gone back to Europe, but for the most part when I've tried to talk to them they want to hide their faces and disguise their voices. They don't want to give their real flame. Eunice, on the other hand, is very loud and proud to talk about how he still supports the brutal ideology. He has no problem with the killings, the violence, the massacres. He really gives you a true glimpse of the mind of an is supporter.

BALDWIN: And names his child after Osama Bin Laden. WARD: It's hard to believe. It's hard to believe.

BALDWIN: We'll watch your documentary. It is tonight. Do not miss this. It's called "behind the mask, is," tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern only here on CNN. Clarissa ward, thank you so much.

WARD: Thank you.

BALDWIN: We'll be right back.

[15:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: One rookie stands apart from the 80 new graduates of the Suffolk County New York Police Department. He had to go beyond the call of duty just to make it on to the force.

MATIAS FERREIRA, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE OFFICER: All set to go? All right.

BRYNN GINGRASS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is office Ferreira's first week as a Suffolk County New York Police Officer.

FERREIRA: All right.

GINGRASS: The 28-year-old is no rookie. Rather, it's been a long, painful road getting to this point.

FERREIRA: I was like, wow, I'm so young. I'm not sure if I'm even going to be able to stand again.

GINGRASS: That moment was five years ago. Soon after fulfilling a dream becoming a marine.

FERREIRA: 9/11 was definitely a big impact and a big turnaround for, you know, actually going through with my dreams.

GINGRASS: His first deployment brought him to Afghanistan. During a raid, he jumped on a hidden IED.

FERREIRA: Falling on a 30-pound bomb which when it was sent off my legs were both amputated below the knees. I remember the medivac coming in and my guys putting me on the stretcher and on the helo and saying you're going to be OK, you'll be all right.

GINGRASS: Any anger that this happened?

FERREIRA: No anger. Very blessed to survive the blast so for me to point any fingers at anybody would be just silly. I was pointing fingers at people to help me, hey, I want you to help me walk and you run, I want you to help me learn how to run.

GINGRASS: It took him three months of rehabilitation and his next challenge to join the police force. The marine veteran who once saved a baby from a smoldering car crash knew he had a tough road ahead, academy training, this time going through it as a double amputee. FERREIRA: This was an exercise we did when you're simulating with a

baton use and there was one time when the fist man proceeded to attack me and I fell on the ground and to them it was a good test to see if I would be able to get back up, and -- and I was able to just pop back up.

GINGRASS: Why was this so important to you that you were able to do everything equally?

FERREIRA: It wouldn't be fair that I was given, you know, something on a golden platter.

GINGRASS: Ferreira graduated the academy President of his class, an honor given to him by his fellow recruits, and now in uniform again he's an inspiration to the community he serves.

I tried to get myself involved in everything I did to help somebody's bad day turn into a good day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Thank you so much for bringing us his story here beyond the call of duty. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you all for being with me. Have wonderful weekends, but don't move a muscle. My boyfriend John Berman is sitting in for Jake Tapper today. "The Lead" starts right now.