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McCain: Lack of Niger Answers May Require Subpoena; Sen. Jack Reed Talks North Korea Crisis; Backlash over Trump Interviewing U.S. Attorney Candidates; Inside Liberated Terrorist "Capitol" Raqqa. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 19, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00] BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: They were told it was unlikely, according to the intelligence, that they would run into opposition forces. They'd been in the area before with no reported problems and they walked right into an ISIS ambush by some 50 ISIS fighters. So this starts with, what kind of intelligence was provided to this team when they ran into the ISIS ambush. ISIS had rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns. The U.S. troops only had the rifles they were carrying at the time. They weren't in armored vehicles. Didn't have a need for them, they thought. So this turned into a very nasty situation for these troops very, very quickly.

They tried to call for help and some French military aircraft did come overhead, French Mirage jets. But in Niger, where they were operating, that government there does not allow offensive air strikes. So all the help they could get was to have these jets fly overhead and try and scare off the ISIS fighters. It took close to an hour for Medevac to come in to evacuate the dead and wounded, but that left Sergeant La David Johnson, -- the young man you see on your far right -- 25 years old, not aboard. They did not have him when they took off. And it took 48 hours to locate his body.

The big question for the families, for all military families remains, how did a man get left behind? Battlefields are confusing places in the middle of a fire fight, but still, the Medevac happened, the dead and wounded were evacuated and they didn't have Sergeant La David Johnson.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: There's a lot of questions that need to be answers. And they've got to learn, study what happened here to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.

I want to dig deeper now on the timeline of this ambush in Niger.

Joining us, CNN military and diplomatic analyst, John Kirby, a former spokesman for the Pentagon and the State Department.

This ambush, John, was on October 4th. Take us through the timeline.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY & DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: That's right, Wolf. Wednesday, October 4th, it was on that day officials tell us the 12-man Green Beret team, that included about 20 Nigerian troops as well, had just completed a meeting with local leaders and were walking back to their unarmored pickup trucks when the ambush resulted in a fire fight that lasted about 30 minutes, until French fighter jets arrived overhead, as Barb talked about, to fly low passes in an attempt to disperse the attackers. The aircraft did not have permission to drop bombs. Multiple U.S. officials have told CNN. That's an important point.

Sergeant La David Johnson became separated then from his team. We do not know how or why at this point. A search-and-rescue operation involving U.S., French and Nigerian troops was launched soon after the U.S. realized one of their servicemembers was unaccounted for. The U.S. military says it does not believe Sergeant Johnson fell over into enemy hands. But they did have reason to believe he might be alive. One indication is that the military picked up electronic signals from a tracking system he may have had on. His body would later be recovered in an area of the northwestern African country by Nigerian troops nearly 48 hours after he was discovered missing in the wake of the attack. Again, all according to U.S. officials right now -- Wolf?

BLITZER: So still, John, a lot of unanswered questions. What do you think needs to be answered first?

KIRBY: I think there's three things that pop out to me, Wolf. One is command and control. What were the command-and-control arrangements for this team and what they were doing, what the approval authorities? How much situational awareness did their superiors have? Number two, intelligence. What are the intelligence lay down as they proceeded on this mission? And, importantly, what were the lapses and what can we learn from that? And three, and this is the most important thing. What happened to Sergeant Johnson. Why was it he was not brought back with the others? Why was he left behind? And what happened to him over those 48 hours? I think getting closure for the family on those questions are going to be vital moving forward.

BLITZER: Yes, very important, indeed.

John Kirby, thanks for that.

Senator John McCain, as you heard, says the Senate Armed Services Committee may seek a subpoena to get more information.

Joining us now from Capitol Hill, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and the ranking member of the is that the Armed Services Committee.

Senator Reed, thanks very much for joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: First of all, Senator McCain, your chairman, says there's a briefing coming for the committee. What can you tell us about that?

SEN. JACK REED, (D), RHODE ISLAND: We're working together, Senator McCain and I, to get a briefing, a classified briefing on what happened, to raise many of the questions with Barbara and Admiral Kirby raised. What about the intelligence, the air cover, evacuation plans? Why was it -- the response slow. All those questions need to be fully answered and in a classified setting. Then I think Senator McCain will determine if more must be done or should be done.

[13:35:08] BLITZER: What do you think about the defense secretary, James Mattis, a retired four-star general, his complaint that even he -- he's the defense secretary -- even he doesn't have all the information.

REED: I think that's very disturbing. The secretary of Defense and national command should be able in this time, we're talking about days, not hours, to be able to assemble a good picture of what happened. There's still outstanding questions, I'm sure. But that's dismaying to have him to say he's disappointed.

BLITZER: The statement from President Trump on Niger what happened, as you know by now, was actually circulated around the White House from the National Security Council the day after the incident. But officials, for whatever reason, chose to let the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, talk about it at a briefing, instead of the president of the United States issuing a strong statement. He actually didn't even mention Niger, what happened in Niger, for some 12 days. Why the delay and the decision to not have the president make that initial statement?

REED: Well, at this point, there's another issue that we would like to pursue in terms of why there was a such a lack of response in terms of notifying the American public. Then, also reaching out to the families. It seems unusual had this been a successful operation, I think there would have been a tweet within minutes, so I think we have to ask that question, also.

BLITZER: There are lot of questions that need to be answers as far as Niger is concerned. Once again, if the U.S. doesn't learn the lessons, it will happen again. There are a lot of U.S. troops, not only in Niger, but elsewhere in Africa. I suspect most of the American public has no idea what those troops are up to, what the mission is, what they're doing now, and how dangerous some of those situations are. And I'm sure your committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee, is going to be looking into all of that, not just Niger, but what's going on in neighboring countries as well.

Let's get to North Korea, the crisis on the Korean peninsula. Senator Reed, you're just back from a trip to South Korea. You were up in the Demilitarized Zone. What impression did you get there to President Trump's stance on North Korea, the threats going back and forth between Kim Jong-Un and the president?

REED: Well, first of all, it's the most dangerous situation that we face in a very dangerous world because they already have medium-range missiles with nuclear capabilities and chemical weapons. This is a very sensitive situation. The back and forth between the president and Kim Jong-Un is, I don't think, particularly helpful. I think the president should make it clear that we have a range of options. But I think he should be much more supportive of Secretary Tillerson's diplomatic effort. They say, the president says diplomacy is our first approach and we should do it seriously, et cetera. I think the claims that Kim Jong-Un will make for what will be disturbing, provocative, that seems to be the nature of the North Korean leader. And we have, unfortunately, we only have a warning of several hours, if he does contemplate some type of launch. But at this point, I would hope it would just be more rhetorical than actual and we have the time to use diplomacy.

BLITZER: As you know, the president is going to make a major visit to several countries in Asia next month, including a stop in South Korea. The White House hasn't said in the president will definitely visit the Demilitarized Zone, the South Korean part of the Demilitarized Zone, the buffer area separates North and South Korea. You were just there. I think all U.S. presidents have made a visit to the DMZ.

At this very explosive and sensitive moment, sir, do you believe President Trump should visit the DMZ? What message would that send to allies and to North Korea?

REED: Well, I think at this very sensitive time, you have to almost wait until the day before or the day of to see what the situation is. I think they have to factor intelligence as an issue of security. That has to be the first consideration. And then again, what message does President Trump want to say. Typically, our presidents and vice presidents have gone there have made comments, but not provocative comments. They've simply noticed the DMZ and our commitment to the people of South Korea going back decades. I think something like that would be appropriate for the president to do. But I do think they have to consider security and also the possibility that those comments will be more provocative than historically consistent.

[13:40:07] BLITZER: The White House hasn't said for sure whether the president will visit the DMZ. When the president was asked about it the other day, he left open the possibility. He said, somebody said this could be very provocative and he wanted to know more about it.

Senator, Senator Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, thanks very much for joining us.

REED: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, President Trump personally interviewing U.S. attorney candidates both in New York and Washington. What happens -- to be home to many -- all of which New York and Washington and other places as well, seem to be home to many of his businesses. Now, there's new backlash against this unprecedented move to interview candidates for the U.S. attorney positions, especially in New York.

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[13:45:02] BLITZER: President Trump's meetings with candidates for the U.S. attorney positions in New York and Washington, they've raised serious questions about a potential conflict of interest, but the White House is strongly defending the president. An official telling CNN - and I'm quoting now -- "We realize Senate Democrats would like to reduce this president's constitutional powers, but he and other presidents before him and after may talk to individuals nominated progressions within the executive branch." Let's bring in our justice correspondent, Jessica Schneider. She's

here with me.

Jessica, why is this so unusual?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, U.S. attorneys are typically insulated from any type of political influence. It's the president who ultimately nominates the top federal prosecutor for each of the districts around the country. But any face-to-face meeting during the nomination process is heard of. Several past U.S. attorneys have spoken out, saying they were never interviewed by past presidents, had zero contact with the president once they assumed their post.

But we do now know that President Trump has interviewed candidates for U.S. attorney in D.C. Jesse Wu (ph) was confirmed on December 14th, as well as candidates in Brooklyn and Manhattan. But the White House now defending this. A White House official saying it is well within the president's powers to meet with nominees who are part of the executive branch.

BLITZER: Yes. That's the position of the White House, but a lot of experts strongly, strongly disagree.

Jessica, thanks very much.

I want to get some more analysis on this. Michael Zeldin is joining us, our CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor.

This is unusual for a president to personally interview candidate, especially for the U.S. Attorney positions in New York and Washington. How unusual from your expertise is it?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's unheard of, actually. And it harkens back to what Comey testified to during his most recent testimony where he said he felt uncomfortable with the president wanting to communicate with him privately by cell phone or otherwise because he thought he was trying to cultivate a personal relationship. That's what Preet said in New York before he was fired by President Trump and it seems as if we have a pattern here of the president interviewing people who he feels will be loyal to him as opposed to loyal to the rule of law and the administration justice. Jeff Sessions in his testimony yesterday said essentially, it was unheard of. Constitutionally permissible, but practically unheard of. So did Senator Blumenthal. We have ethics issues that should raise everybody's suspicions and hopefully, they'll be vetted when they come to appointment and when the Senators from those states feel comfortable, all the Senators in New York and D.C. And Florida, they're all lawyers, so they know about ethics and conflicts of interest.

BLITZER: I actually spoke with the former attorney in New York last night, Preet Bharara, last night. He's now CNN senior legal analyst. And as you know, he was fired by President Trump earlier in this year, earlier in the year, after spending many years as the U.S. attorney in New York. But listen to what he told me about these interview us that the

president was having with candidates for the U.S. attorney position in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PREET BHARARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I understand that he has personally interviewed the potential applicants for U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., which happen to be places where Donald Trump has property and assets and companies, and not interviewed personally U.S. attorneys for other positions, and I think that reasonably raises a number of questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And I know you agree with him. How worried are you about this?

ZELDEIN: Well, the Senators have a right to put a hold on these nominations. Typically, these nominations come through the Senators. That's how they typically arise. And I don't know if it's the case here that these are names that the president is interviewing that came through Senator Schumer or Senator nelson's offices, the ranking members in their jurisdictions. But if it's not, I would expect these guys are going to have a hard time getting confirmed or they should have a hard time getting confirmed until they can convince the Senate they are not loyal to the president above the Constitution themselves.

[13:49:24] BLITZER: This raises all sorts of other questions, especially about the businesses that the president, President Trump has in New York and various other places.

ZELDIN: That's right.

BLITZER: Michael Zeldin, thanks very much for that explanation.

There's more news we're following. The president's national security adviser, General H.R. McMaster -- you're looking at live pictures. He's expected to start answering questions about the Niger ambush, the North Korea threat. We'll have coverage of that.

Plus this. When ISIS began growing in the Middle East, they claimed the city of Raqqa as its capital of its caliphate. But it has taken three years now, but U.S.-backed forces have driven the terrorists out of their stronghold. We're about to go inside Raqqa to see the results of this struggle.

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BLITZER: U.S.-backed forces in Syria have driven ISIS out of its self-declared capital of Raqqa. The situation on the ground is a stark contrast to three years ago. Take a look at this. On the left, you can see Raqqa back in 2014, as ISIS terrorist celebrated the capture of the city. On the right, you see U.S.-backed forces parading this week after liberating Raqqa from ISIS. CNN's Arwa Damon is one of the only Western journalist to report from

inside the former ISIS stronghold and she is joining us right here Raqqa.

The city has been decimated. We have seen the drone video. How are the people who are still there who are still living there, how are they going about their lives?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that's one of the more striking things about this situation in Raqqa right now and the more heart-breaking things. There are no civilians. You drive through it and street after street of rubble. You can't even see the traces of the lives that were. That's how destroyed some parts are. Is was holding the civilian population hostage but as the forces were pushing forward and liberating areas, only at that point the civilian population was able to leave and especially as they were squeezing ISIS into the last portions of Raqqa, the civilians there were left not only at the mercy of ISIS but also without basic things like food, water, many of them in the videos that we have been able to see when they were finally liberated, those that did in fact survive were starving. Many were emaciated. Children that had to endure all of this. Severely malnourished. One of the many things to take into consideration. Bearing in mind the battle against ISIS is not over.

[13:55:13] BLITZER: What's next for Raqqa, Arwa?

DAMON: Well, they have set up the Raqqa Civil Council that is meant to move into action as soon as the city is cleared of improvised explosive devices. That is a phenomenally massive task. They're going to bring in and they have already begun bringing in demining teams but one of the female commanders said she estimates it will take at least three months to clear the city of explosives and need to rebuild, clearing it out of rubble, trying to get things like water, electricity set up and you just realize the enormity of all of this through the visuals of how destroyed the city is and just by being there, another crucial thing that this council is going to have to address, something that has been highlighted to us time and time again, it's not just about the reconstruction of the city. We don't at this stage know who can is going to help the people of Raqqa cover the cost of the physical reconstruction but vital in terms of ensuring ISIS does not gain a foothold in a city like Raqqa, is trying to rebuild the city's social fabric -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Very courageous reporting from our own Arwa Damon, as she always does.

Arwa, be careful over there. Still a dangerous situation. Even as we speak.

Arwa Damon reporting from near Raqqa in Syria.

Take a look at this. We're getting live pictures coming in from here in Washington where President Trump's national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, is taking questions, expected to address the very sensitive issue of the Niger ambush, which resulted in four American troops getting killed and the president's response to the latest threats from North Korea.

And the president, moments ago, giving his administration a 10, 10 out of 10, for its response to the crisis in Puerto Rico. This, as 80 percent of the island is still without power.

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