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U.S.-North Korea Talks; Trump Lawyer Used Company E-mail for Stormy Daniels Payment; British Troops Help Investigate Nerve Agent Attack; NRA Sues Florida over New Gun Control Law; 9-1-1 Calls During Massacre at Florida High School; #MyFreedomDay. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired March 10, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The White House enters the weekend with a lot of new baggage. Just this week, trade tariffs, the resignation of the chief economic adviser and a lawsuit from a porn star. The top of the list right now, planning a meeting and a deal with North Korea.
In the U.K., police tell residents not to be alarmed as investigation continue after a nerve agent attack. We'll be live in Salisbury.
Plus Florida raising the gun buying age to 21 years old, defying the NRA. However, one Parkland student says, hold the applause.
Great to have you with us this morning. I'm Cyril Vanier from CNN Headquarters here in Atlanta.
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VANIER: So the White House is left scrambling to prepare a potential meeting between North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and the U.S. president.
Where could it happen?
When could it happen?
And would there be any conditions or preconditions?
There are no firm answers to all of these important questions yet.
A few hours ago, President Trump tweeted, "The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the world."
That follows a confusing day of mixed signals from the White House. Our Jeff Zeleny has that.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SR. WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The White House is scrambling tonight to follow through with what could be the biggest diplomatic gamble in generations, face-to-face talks between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
But one day after the president stunned the world by accepting Kim's invitation on the spot, it became clear just how complicated and confusing arranging a meeting with the two leaders will be.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea.
ZELENY: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tried delivering a clear message today.
SANDERS: The maximum pressure campaign, we're not letting up. This maximum pressure campaign and this process has been ongoing. The United States is going to continue that maximum pressure campaign.
ZELENY (voice-over): But left many questions unanswered about the future of North Korea's nuclear program.
ZELENY: How will the president and the United States be able to verify this before the meeting?
SANDERS: That's something that will be determined through the national security and intelligence community.
ZELENY (voice-over): The president has said repeatedly that his previous presidents, his predecessors, have mishandled this and misplayed this. Why can he be so confident that this is the right move, when just in October he was telling his own secretary of state it would be a waste of time to talk directly?
SANDERS: I think it's really clear that they have misplayed it or we wouldn't be in the position the we're in. The president wouldn't be having to clean up the mistake of the previous three administrations. The president is getting promises out of North Korea that haven't been made in any recent years.
ZELENY: But delivering on those promises may be another story, particularly by May of this year, when the two leaders agreed to meet.
When the invitation was delivered to the White House on Thursday evening, the South Korean national security adviser said only that Kim is committed to denuclearization, not he would take concrete steps before meeting Trump.
When asked whether the meeting be called off if those steps aren't met, Sanders said this:
SANDERS: I'm not going to sit here and walk through every hypothetical that could exist in the world. But I can tell you that the president has accepted that invitation on the basis that we have concrete and verifiable steps.
ZELENY: The look on the president's face spoke volumes when he ducked into the White House Briefing Room on Thursday afternoon to tease the announcement. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveling in Africa had expressed skepticism only hours earlier.
REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: In terms of direct talks with the United States -- and you asked negotiations -- and we're a long ways from negotiations.
ZELENY: The countdown to a historic meeting, should it go forward, comes after a roller coaster of red-hot rhetoric.
Seven months ago, the president sparked worldwide alarm when he said this:
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.
ZELENY: A month later, he belittled Kim during a speech at the United Nations.
TRUMP: Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself.
ZELENY: Then the president admonished his secretary of state, saying he was wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket man. Visiting South Korea one month later, he had this message for Kim.
TRUMP: Do not underestimate us and do not try us.
ZELENY: But, recently, Trump's words have been far more diplomatic.
TRUMP: I thought North Korea was terrific. They came out. They went into the Olympics.
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TRUMP: They went in with good spirit. They did well.
ZELENY: Trump remained out of sight today after calling Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It remained unclear not only where the meeting would be, but who would attend.
SANDERS: At the end of the day, the ultimate person to lead that negotiation or that conversation and be at the table will be the president.
ZELENY: -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
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VANIER: Let's bring in Andrew Stevens, he's live in Seoul, South Korea for us.
Andrew, what more are you learning on your end about this meeting?
The South Koreans have been instrumental so far in getting the message from North Korea to the president. ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: That's right, the South Koreans have been playing the role as the broker in these talks. They are having their own summit meeting between the two Koreas. But this is a really big one.
Most of the news is coming from the South Korean delegation, still hearing nothing from the North, Cyril. They're not mentioning on television, on state media there. In fact, the latest was a strong criticism of the U.S., replying extra sanctions -- that was in the local newspapers in North Korea.
So at the moment, there is this confusion around exactly what Kim is offering. It was made clear by the South Koreans that he wants to talk about denuclearization and the offer was that he would freeze his missile and his weapons testing. It wasn't that he would take concrete steps to denuclearization before that meeting took place.
We know a little bit more about another message that was delivered to President Trump by the South Korean delegation from Kim. But that was to cement the trust in getting towards this meeting.
Apparently, the officials told Trump -- and what we have learned from Blue House is that there was no plea from Kim about easing sanctions before this meeting takes place.
In fact, there was no plea for any sort of concessions at all. So at the moment, the Koreans are still sort of saying, at least publicly, that this is about a meeting on denuclearization and there hasn't, from our end, certainly, been any further strings about concessions being made beforehand.
VANIER: And "The New York Times" was also reporting on Friday and consistent with what you are saying, that the U.S. hasn't had, through its communications channel with North Korea, an independent confirmation of this offer for talks. We'll have to wait and see if they do get confirmation, see how that pans out.
Andrew Stevens in South Korea, thank you very much.
Let's go Leslie Vinjamuri, she's associate professor in international relations at SOAS at the University of London also an associate fellow at Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in the U.K. Pretty cool title, Leslie.
LESLIE VINJAMURI, SOAS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Thank you.
VANIER: Do you think the meeting will actually happen?
Because that's a real question at this stage.
VINJAMURI: There is a real question. We have seen some backtracking within the White House and people around President Trump, his closest advisers, not being well aware that this was coming.
But it does seem that the president wants to take up this invitation, has an instinct, as he has, as he has for a long time, that he can do a deal and really turn things around.
It seems like this meeting will take place. There are a tremendous number of questions around it. There's a lot of concern as we know as to whether there will be enough time and enough serious thinking on the part of the U.S. that goes into what exactly will be the desired outcome, what will the U.S. be willing to offer, what will the U.S. be willing to accept?
Normally, of course, the summit would come at the end of a large series of talks at lower levels and ironing out of the details. So that final summit could just push a deal through and hammer out the final issues.
But this is sort of the reverse strategy. So it's very risky but, nonetheless, quite a significant discovery, announcement. It does look like it will go forward; of course, one never knows and anything could happen.
VANIER: What's the risk, though?
Because a lot of commentary over the last 24 hours has been, oh, well, Donald Trump is going where no other president has been before, accepting a meeting without knowing exactly what Kim Jong-un would give up in return.
But I understand the symbolism of this and I understand that you have to manage expectations and the image of this for the U.S., for both sides, really. But substance wise, as far as policy and denuclearization, what is the risk?
Why is this risky?
VINJAMURI: Well, I think you have to keep the context clear, which is that, for Mr. Kim, for the North Korean leader, just the fact of a summit meeting is a very big win. It's a carrot. It's a give. And in a sense, by agreeing to meet --
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VINJAMURI: -- without having a clear set of asks on the table, the U.S. is giving away quite a lot.
And so it loses a little bit of leverage. It gives a degree of legitimacy to the regime, just by the fact of meeting, which I think is tremendously important. So it's not so much what is lost by the fact of the meeting; it's what's lost in terms of the leverage that the U.S. has to exercise or to play.
Do you promise a meeting right up front or do you try to ask for something in advance of it?
In terms of the broader question, of course if Donald Trump goes into this meeting and doesn't have a -- says something, makes an agreement without very clear thinking -- and, remember, this is an administration that doesn't have a very solid team in place when it comes to that expertise on North Korea. The leading expert on North Korea in the State Department is departing
now. We don't have an ambassador in place in Seoul. We had a very good candidate, Victor Cha, on the table that Donald Trump removed from consideration only just recently.
So the risk, of course, is just what's lost in the opportunity and this idea that it could look like the American president is being played if this isn't managed very carefully.
VANIER: The White House press secretary on Friday said the meeting would take place provided the North Koreans took steps, observable, verifiable steps toward denuclearization. That already seems to be a big caveat.
VINJAMURI: Yes. What we are hearing, what it looks like, that denuclearization is something that the president hasn't agreed to being a requirement in advance of talks. It's actually going to be a part of the talks.
Now the idea of talking to one's adversaries -- and the stakes couldn't be higher than with respect to this particular issue. So talking in itself is a good move. There should be some credit given for the idea that there will be talks.
Remember this is a president who was very critical of President Obama when he decided to engage and talked with Iran on its nuclear program. So it's a very significant shift and one to be welcomed but not absent a very clear strategy for what the U.S. will offer.
Will it offer normalization?
Will it offer energy assistance?
Will it consider removing troops from the region?
Is it working -- is the United States working with its regional allies?
Is it talking to Japan?
Is it talking very carefully to South Korea?
The stakes are very high. The strategy needs to be clear and it needs to be a collective conversation. And if the question of denuclearization or at least a freeze is on the table, what will the inspections regime be?
And those are very high-stakes issues that need to be very clearly mapped out. And if the talks are in just a couple weeks, there's not a lot of time to do that.
VANIER: Lots and lots of questions as you say. Leslie, thanks for joining us on the show. Thanks.
VINJAMURI: Thank you. VANIER: And the North Korea announcement is just the latest development in what's been a very busy week at the White House. Just a reminder, it was also this week that the president's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, said he was resigning. Of course that came after the president announced that his plan for tariffs would, indeed, move forward.
Also add to the list, porn star Stormy Daniels, suing the president, saying that the agreement to keep her quiet about their alleged affair is not valid. Mr. Trump's long-time lawyer, Michael Cohen, is insisting that he acted alone on that in an apparent effort to buy Stormy Daniels' silence.
But the e-mail address that Cohen used to communicate details of the agreement could tie the episode back to the president. Our Sara Sidner reports.
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SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Stormy Daniels continues making big money appearances in strip clubs across the country, there is new potential evidence in her case.
This message from a New York bank showing Donald Trump's personal lawyer was using his Trump Organization e-mail account to arrange $130,000 payoff to keep Daniels quiet.
Until now Michael Cohen has maintained he facilitated the payment to the adult film star himself and that the president or the Trump Organization were not involved. It's thought the payment was to keep Stormy from talking in the days before the election about allegations she had a sexual affair with Trump. Stormy Daniels attorney had this to say.
MICHAEL AVENATTI, STORMY DANIELS' ATTORNEY: Because we're going to be obtain discovery and documents and testimony that's going to show I am highly confident at all times Mr. Trump knew exactly what was going on.
SIDNER: The e-mail stream confirms money was transferred into a checking account apparently controlled by Cohen which he then forwarded Stormy Daniel's lawyer on October 26th at the time as proof that the payment was coming.
JESSICA DRAKE, ADULT FILM STAR: When we entered the room, he grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking permission.
SIDNER: The scandal surrounding the hush money agreement --
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SIDNER: -- signed by Daniels has now bizarrely widened to include another porn star. Just a month before the 2016 presidential election, Jessica Drake accused then candidate Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. She claimed Trump harassed her in 2006 at the same Lake Tahoe Resort gold tournament where Daniels and Trump met and took this infamous photo.
At the time Trump spokesperson fired back at Drake, saying Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in every knowing her.
But Drake has pictures of her and Trump showing they at least met. And Drake's legal name, Angel Ryan is listed on the non-disparagement agreement Trump's lawyer drafted to keep Stormy Daniels quiet, saying she was one of the four people with confidential information about Daniels and the alleged sexual relationship with Trump which his team has denied. Adult film actress Alana Evans was also in Tahoe in 2006.
SIDNER: How do you know that Donald Trump and Jessica Drake actually met in 2006?
ALANA EVANS, STORMY DANIELS' FRIEND: Stormy told me that day that I saw her in Tahoe. It was part of her story when Donald came to the booth, Jessica ran up to him, was gushing all over her, excited to see him and that he was nice to her. But said that he wanted to meet Stormy and pointed right at her.
SIDNER: As for as evidence Daniels has in her case, Alana is not privy to that. Everyone has to see what Stormy herself says. When it comes to the e-mail sent by Mr. Cohen, he says there's no story there. He uses that e-mail from the Trump Organization all the time to virtually everyone and he says, where the $130,000 to pay off Stormy Daniels came from, he says he took it from a home equity loan -- Sara Sidner, CNN, San Diego.
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VANIER: And Stormy Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, is still pushing back. He provided an e-mail to CNN allegedly discussing the payment that included a reference to Cohen's office being closed. Avenatti says it indicates that Cohen was acting in a professional capacity.
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MICHAEL AVENATTI, STORMY DANIELS' ATTORNEY: If, in fact the payment was being made personally by attorney Cohen, he wouldn't need his office open in order to effectuate the payment.
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VANIER: We are going take a quick break. When we come back, a hostage situation in California ends in tragedy at a facility housing U.S. military veterans. We're back after this.
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VANIER: The hostage situation in Northern California ended tragically with three women fatally shot. Police say the victims all worked at a mental health facility for U.S. military veterans. Apparently the gunman had been receiving treatment there up until two weeks ago. The husband of an employee who managed to escape explained what happened.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a going-away party for a couple of the staff who were leaving today. Today was their last day. You know, they were having cake and, you know, toasting and all that. And then apparently he just walked in with this rifle.
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VANIER: The shooter exchanged gunfire with police before taking the hostages. He was found dead, along with the victims, when police entered the building several hours later.
Now police in Salisbury, England, are telling residents that there's no need to worry even though they are seeing military troops in the streets. On Friday, nearly 200 British army, navy and air force units deployed to help police with the investigation into the assassination attempt on a former Russian spy.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a dangerous nerve agent last week and now they are fighting for their lives in hospital. Let's find out more. Phil Black is in Salisbury in England.
Phil, what are investigators looking for at the moment?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cyril, the key question, where and how was this nerve agent deployed?
You can see behind me, this attempt, that's where the bench is where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were first found, suffering the powerful effects of the nerve agent. It's where emergency services rushed to help him.
Essentially the police are trying to work back from that moment to determine where and how they were exposed to this chemical weapon. Now the police say they are not giving a running commentary on their working theories from moment-to-moment, day-to-day.
But we can see that in recent days, a lot of the forensic work has been taking place at Sergei Skripal's house.
In addition to that and, interestingly, we saw a lot of work also being done yesterday, at the local cemetery, specifically at the gravesites of Sergei Skripal's wife and son. They are not disturbing those graves. They are not exhuming the remains. They were studying the locations themselves.
Now as for the nerve agent, the authorities here say that they determined pretty quickly what it was. And they have said that it's rare. But they are not making that information public.
The next question in that line of inquiry, if you like, will not be determined through legwork here on the ground but where was that substance made?
Because that will ultimately play a big role in influencing the British government's reaction if and when it is formally decided that a state actor was involved in this -- Cyril.
VANIER: Yes, that will definitely shorten the list of potential suspects. Russia is the name that keeps coming up.
One of the reasons is that the person, the people who were attacked, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Sergei Skripal was a double agent, had been working for Russian secret service.
Can you tell us a little bit more about him?
BLACK: So a Russian citizen who used to work for Russian military intelligence; at some point, it appears he was turned by the British to spy for MI-6, the British intelligence agency.
He was detected, though. That was back in 2004, arrested by the Russians, eventually put on trial for treason, convicted of espionage, sentenced to 13 years. And then it was in 2010 that he was pardoned and released as part of a spy swap with the West. And that's how he came to be --
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BLACK: -- in the U.K. and came to live here.
And of course key to this investigation in some ways will be what's he been doing here ever since?
What could he possibly have done that would inspire this sort of attack, this sort of attempt on his life, so many years after he was initially released by the Russians? -- Cyril.
VANIER: All right, Phil Black, speaking to us from Salisbury in England. Thank you for the update, Phil.
The so-called pharma bro, Martin Shkreli, was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday for defrauding investors. This is not related to the controversy that made him infamous. You might remember him from the time he raised the price of a life-saving HIV drug by more than 5,000 percent.
He pleaded for leniency at his sentencing.
"There's no conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli. I took down Martin Shkreli with y disgraceful and shameful actions. This is my fault." That's what he said.
CNN's Clare Sebastian and Zain Asher spoke earlier about Shkreli and his legacy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He said all along, of course, that patients who needed it would be able to get access to it at a lower price, that he was going make sure of that. But that is what catapulted him --
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SEBASTIAN: -- the interesting thing, though, is that had he not been the poster child for this issue of inflated drug prices in America, would it have become such an issue going forward?
You remember, he testified in Congress; there were other scandals that followed with Valeant and then Mylan, the maker of EpiPen. This is something that Donald Trump has taken up in his own FDA, the issue of inflated drug prices in America. So I think that is something of a legacy that he leaves as he goes to prison.
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VANIER: In addition to prison, Shkreli also has to forfeit more than $7 million in assets, including a Picasso painting and a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album.
There's been a lot of excitement about a possible meeting between the U.S. president and the North Korean leader.
Will it really make a difference though or is conflict inevitable?
We'll be talking to an expert. Plus at least one U.S. ally might avoid punishing new tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from the U.S. after making a direct appeal to President Trump. We'll tell you more after this.
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VANIER: Welcome back. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Cyril Vanier. Let's look at the headlines.
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VANIER: Martin Navias is a military analyst at Kings College in London, author of "Nuclear Weapons and British Strategic Planning." He joins us from London.
Martin, is there anything the United States can put on the table that would lead Kim Jong-un to abandon his nuclear weapons?
MARTIN NAVIAS, KINGS COLLEGE: No, I don't think so. I don't think total denuclearization is on the cards here. I know both parties have mentioned this as an objective, they've mentioned it in passing.
But I don't think this is a realistic goal for them to work to. Nevertheless, I do think they are achievable objectives and, short of total denuclearization, and I expect that those are the objectives to which the parties will work.
VANIER: What do you make of the way this meeting has been proposed?
This is all coming from an intermediary, the South Korean delegation, which met the North Koreans earlier this week and then traveled to the White House, actually delivered the message in person to Mr. Trump.
Why are they doing it this way, when we know the U.S. and North Korea actually have a means of communication, direct means of communication?
NAVIAS: Well, these meetings were proposed during the Olympic Games. They served as a mechanism to arrange the meeting. I think the North Koreans didn't want to approach the United States directly. They felt more comfortable doing it through an intermediary.
But whatever the case, the fact that we have a meeting today is a result of American pressure. It's a result of President Trump's fashioning of a range of sticks that has forced the North Koreans, in my opinion, into a corner.
Sanctions are really beginning to bite now on the North Korean regime and the threats that President Trump has made against the North Korean leader has unnerved him. So I think that is why we are heading towards discussions at the moment. The intermediary, well, that's just a mechanism by which these talks were arranged.
VANIER: In the event that the meeting actually takes place, do you think that the personalities of the two leaders involved is a big factor here?
Mr. Trump, Kim Jong-un, they can be erratic and unpredictable.
Do you think their actual characters is a big deal here?
Or do you think that pales in comparison to both countries' strategic interests?
NAVIAS: No, I think you are correct. I think their personalities are a big factor. We don't know much about how Kim Jong-un will negotiate. It's the first time he's meeting with a foreign leader.
President Trump of course is unpredictable. But it's his unpredictability that has enabled these meetings to take place. America's strategic interests here are clear and I think they are attainable. I think there are three things that President Trump can achieve short of total denuclearization.
Firstly, he's got to get the North Koreans to get rid of those missiles that can hit the United States. He won't get rid of all missiles but he must get rid of those. And he must curtail the North Koreans' nuclear program. North Korea is believed to have between 20 and 60 nuclear weapons. That's enough. They don't need more for --
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VANIER: But, wait, let me stop you right there.
What can Washington put on the table?
I circle back to my first question, what can they put on the table that would incentivize Kim Jong-un to get rid of missiles that can hit the U.S.?
That's his --
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VANIER: -- whole leverage.
NAVIAS: So there are two things he can do. Number one, President Trump can offer him security guarantees. He can offer the North Koreans security guarantees whereby the United States will promise not to recognize the North Korean regime as a nuclear power and will not attack North Korea. Secondly, he could start easing off the sanctions. The timing is clear. It is difficult here.
But those are the key things that President Trump can offer. And those are the things --
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VANIER: Again, this is what I don't understand.
Security guarantees, is that really enough?
I mean, would the North Koreans accept just a piece of paper and a promise that the U.S. is not going to attack?
NAVIAS: Well, no, they won't accept that. But when the United States --
VANIER: But what else can the U.S. provide?
NAVIAS: When the United States gives a promise that it will not attack a country, that has got certain amount of weight. But even more pressing and alongside those promises would be an easing of the sanctions.
The North Koreans are finding themselves in a very, very difficult position. And they would be prepared, I believe, to at least give up those missiles. They only have got a few of those at the moment, capable of hitting the United States. That doesn't mean they'd give up all the missiles. It doesn't mean that they give up all of their weapons.
The deterrent will remain in place but it won't be able to hit the United States. That's an achievable objective. VANIER: Martin, just before I let you go, real quick, I'm asking everybody this question today, do you think the meeting is actually going to take place?
NAVIAS: I think there's a strong chance it will take place.
VANIER: Martin Navias, thank you for joining us here on the show. Appreciate it. Thanks.
NAVIAS: Thank you.
VANIER: And one day after Australia's prime minister complained about being slapped with steep U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the U.S. president tweeted a sudden willingness to add Australia to the list of exempted countries.
Mr. Trump said the two allies were working quickly on an agreement to avoid the tariffs. Now European allies are feeling punished for no apparent reason.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have not heard any further information about the criteria for potential exclusion but, obviously, we think that, as the E.U. companies honor the source of unfair trade and as the E.U. and our companies are not the source of a security threat, we should get an exclusion.
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VANIER: Coming up, after the break, Florida gets a new gun control law just weeks after a school massacre. And now the National Rifle Association is suing the state. Stay with us.
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VANIER: Another powerful snowstorm is possible across the northeastern U.S. This week.
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VANIER: The powerful U.S. gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, is suing the state of Florida, claiming parts of a new gun control law are unconstitutional. Florida's governor signed the bill on Friday.
Remember what sparked all of this, a teenage gunman killing 17 people at a Florida high school just last month. The NRA objects to raising the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21. The new law also requires a three-day waiting period on most gun purchases and it bans the sale and possession of so-called bump stocks that enable some guns to mimic automatic weapons. Here is CNN's Athena Jones with more.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Before signing this bill into law, Governor Scott praised the legislature. He also praised the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the parents of the victims of that shooting in Parkland for their advocacy.
He also talked about the compromises that were necessary to get this legislation to his desk just three weeks after that horrible shooting. Take a listen.
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GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLA.: There are things in this bill that I oppose. And I have been pretty open about that. I still think law enforcement officers should be the ones to protect our schools. I have heard all the arguments for teachers to be armed.
And while this bill was significantly changed on this topic, I am still not persuaded. I am glad, however, that the plan in this bill is not mandatory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And that revision to arm teachers is, by far, the most controversial provision --
[04:45:00]
JONES: -- in this bill, one the governor, as you heard there, has consistently opposed. He argues teachers should teach. He said that again on Friday.
In fact, the Florida Education Association, which represents some 140,000 teachers and school staff across the state of Florida, had been urging the governor to use his line item veto power to veto the $67 million in this bill that was set aside for the program. He chose not to do that.
He said instead, he wants to talk with the legislature to make sure any of that $67 million that doesn't end up getting used for these programs can instead be redirected to increase law enforcement presence on school campuses.
The families of Parkland victims, several of whom spoke to the press after the bill signing, said that they see this as a good first step on the journey to making schools safer. And they urged states across the country to follow Florida's lead to harden schools, to increase security to try to prevent another incidence of mass violence. Back to you.
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VANIER: And at least one student was clearly not satisfied with Florida's new law. Here is what he told our Anderson Cooper earlier. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMERON KASKY, STONEMAN DOUGLAS STUDENT: You know, Governor Scott is trying to look like he's taking a step in the opposite of the direction of the NRA but we know that's not really going to happen.
And while seeing these two parties move in the right direction together is a positive thing, it's a baby step. I mean if you really look at the bill, we need to ban assault weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: All of this is coming as authorities have released the 9-1-1 tapes from the day of the school shooting, revealing the confusion at the scene and, as Alexander Marquardt reports, also new questions about the police response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be advised we have possible, could be firecrackers, I think we got shots fired.
ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a chaotic, heartbreaking and clearer picture now emerging from recordings and a new timeline just released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
SCOT PETERSON, BROWARD SHERIFF'S OFFICE DEPUTY ASSIGNED TO MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: Make sure we get some units over here.
I need to shut down Stoneman Douglas.
MARQUARDT: That's the voice of the armed school resource officer Scott Peterson, was on campus the whole time. Not only did he not go into the school to pursue the shooter, but we now hear him telling responding units to keep their distance.
PETERSON: Broward, do not approach the 12 or 13 hundred building, stay away at least 500 feet away at this point.
DISPATCH: Stay away from 12 and 1300 building.
MARQUARDT: The new timeline reveals that from the moment the shooting started just because 2:22 p.m. on Valentine's Day. It was 11 long minutes before police finally went into the school, a full fine minutes after the shooting stopped. During those first terrifying moments, 9-1-1 calls for them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I hear gun shots.
MARQUARDT: From inside the school, from people nearby and frightened parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son called me now. He said there is shooting in Douglas High School.
DISPATCH: Douglas High School, OK. Stay on the line for me, OK. What city is that in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parkland, Florida.
MARQUARDT: In another you can hear a mother trying to comfort her daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK. It's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you. I love you. It's going to be fine. Can you hide somewhere? Can play dead?
MARQUARDT: As the terror unfolded, Officer Peterson stayed outside the building, his lawyer later claiming Peterson believed that those gunshots were originating from outside. The time line now clearly shows Peterson telling dispatch it was inside the 1200 building
SHERIFF SCOTT ISRAEL, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: What I saw was a deputy arrive at the west side of the building 12. Take up a position. And he never he went in.
MARQUARDT: Adding to the chaos, there were separate 9-1-1 systems used by the Broward County Sheriff's office and the Coral Springs Police Department, meaning they couldn't communicate with each other.
CORAL SPRING POLICE: 39 white male, ROTC uniform burgundy shirt.
Last seen in the three-story building, north parking lot.
MARQUARDT: The police spotted the gunman but couldn't relay that critical information.
BROWARD COUNTRY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, OFFICER 1: Does he know where the shooter is?
BROWARD COUNTRY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, OFFICER 2: We don't know, but we're heading in the 13 building, in front of the 13 building, building 13.
MARQUARDT: These tapes a fraction of what happened that awful day, a glimpse of the confusion, panic and tragedy that struck Parkland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: That was Alexander Marquardt reporting there for CNN.
When we come back after the next break, students around the world showing CNN what freedom means to them. It's all leading up to CNN's My Freedom Day, a global effort to end slavery around the world. Don't miss it.
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[04:50:00] (SPORTS)
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VANIER: So here is something that's important to us here at CNN. We have been telling you about it almost daily recently.
CNN and young people around the world are teaming up next week to help end modern-day slavery. The student-led day of action on My Freedom Day is this Wednesday, March 14th.
Your voice and your story are critical to the fight for freedom. And that's why one group is giving student filmmakers a platform to shine a light on human trafficking.
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TONY SCHIENA, MOSAIC FEDERATION: What freedom means to me is opportunity. Those who lack opportunity lack freedom. My name is Tony Schiena. My organization is Mosaic Federation. Mosaic Federation was started by myself and the then head of human trafficking for Scotland Yard.
The PSA expose came out of a media initiative that we decided is necessary.
Since I come from the defense industry, it's what we call a soft operation, meaning it's anti-propaganda and it's something I was never really into. I wanted to bust doors down.
And when I thought about what we used to do in the past and thought how important it was, we decided to create this. So the expose is a worldwide campaign. I'm trying to engage filmmakers, wannabe filmmakers, student filmmakers in creating a 30- to 90-second PSA, public service announcement, on human trafficking in their own environments, their own town, village, country.
[04:55:00]
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SCHIENA: Hey, how are you?
Where are you based?
Where are you right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm originally from the Philippines but I moved to Vancouver about eight years ago.
SCHIENA: Where did you shoot it?
In India?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's shot in Mumbai, in the slums, south side Mumbai actually (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We wanted to show it to people that it's happening not just in the third world. It's happening in major cities in North America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Raising awareness is key because we do have the power to stop modern-day slavery. We just need these people to bring this issue to the politicians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). Wait for some help.
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SCHIENA (voice-over): Our participants can find out about this expose. It's on our site, which is humanslavery.com. Tying to opportunity March 14th is our PSA expose on human trafficking. They can submit it and the Hollywood board of luminaries will see their product, will judge their product and will hopefully give them an opportunity.
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VANIER: Many people have already shared with us what freedom means to them on social media. Here is what Burke, an 11th grader from the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, had to say.
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BURK, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF ABU DHABI: Freedom to me means being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want with personal government over my own body and uninhibited access to my U.N. declarative rights.
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VANIER: You can share your story, too. We would love for you to do that. Just use the #MyFreedomDay.
All right. That's all for this hour. I'm Cyril Vanier. I'm back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM right after the break. Stay with us.
