Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Massive Manhunt Underway For Suspects Behind Serial Pipe Bombs Sent To Obamas, Clintons, And CNN; Asian Markets Follow Wall Street's Plunge; Turkish Investigators Blocked From Searching Well; Relations Between North And South Korea Improving; Bombs Sent to CNN, Clintons, Obamas, Others in "Act of Terror"; U.N. Says Genocide is Still Underway in Myanmar; Interview with Tim Cook. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 25, 2018 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Manhunt for a serial bomber who targeted two former presidents, three senior officials from the Obama cabinet and a sitting congresswoman and a billionaire Democrat donor, and they all have one thing in common, constantly targeted for criticism by President Donald Trump.
Release the bears. U.S. stocks fall again down from record highs just weeks ago wiping out this year's gains. Also, a new report from the U.N. finds Myanmar's ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims is not over as that horror continues one survivor records the lives already lost hoping for justice.
Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world, I'm John Vause and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
A day of terrorism stretching from coast to coast across the U.S. followed by a massive manhunt for whoever sent multiple pipe bombs to prominent Democrats as well as to CNN. None of the devices exploded but the scale and the scope of the attacks and the intended targets are chilling. Former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General under Barack Obama Eric Holder, former CIA Director under Obama John Brennan, billionaire and Democratic donor George Soros, and Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters who was targeted twice.
New York Times published these x-ray images of the bomb while the New York police commissioner says the package sent to CNN headquarters in New York was a live explosive device. These devices all bear striking similarities including the packaging, postage, address, and return labels. The intended targets are all frequently vilified by the U.S. President Donald Trump. This device was sent to the Time Warner Center in New York, addressed to Brennan who doesn't work at CNN. Authorities are also searching for a suspicious package sent to former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden but returned to an unknown address.
Steve Moore joins us now from Los Angeles. He spent years investigating violent crimes when he was a special agent at the FBI. He's also CNN's Law Enforcement Contributor. What a day, Steve. What a day.
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Wow.
VAUSE: OK. So it would seem whoever is behind this, it has a list of names. So anyway to know who else is on that list, how many more devices are yet to come?
MOORE: There there's no way right now but what we do know, John, from history is that when people build these batches of bombs, generally they simply line them. They'll make five, ten, 15 at a time, and this might be a first wave and there could be a second wave, we don't know. But you have to plan for -- you know, FBI agents are professional pessimists. If I were working the case, I would think that right now whoever did this is looking at the news. He's feeling pretty good about it and he's about to send off the next wave.
VAUSE: OK, let's look into the politics here but so for everyone who received a device has been a constant target of criticism from the U.S. President. If you're doing the job, would law enforcement, be out there looking at increasing surveillance and security around others who've also been you know, routinely called out by Donald Trump?
MOORE: Yes, but I wouldn't -- I wouldn't be targeting -- I think it would be futile to target everybody he's criticized because he's criticized a lot of people. What I think you will find here is that these people weren't targeted likely because Donald Trump criticized them. Usually, they're targeting people who offended them personally. So what I think you're going to find is they targeted Hillary Clinton who had made comments on no civil -- no civil politics until the Democrats are in power. You get a Maxine Waters -- we don't even have to go further with that. And Eric Holder all did the same.
I believe that this is more about who offended the bomber then asking permission from Donald Trump to do this. Of course, they have all been criticized but you're going to have a very long list if you -- if you go after people he's criticized.
VAUSE: OK. The New York Times -- I'll tell you, these x-ray images of a couple of devices. If you take a close look at it -- you'd actually really need a close look at it, it seems to be fairly unsophisticated which in and of itself says a lot right?
MOORE: Yes, it is. And I'd want to see the materials that were used here, but it looks like they've got -- they put some kind of coil igniter inside there which might be a heat igniter. You know, I don't know if they -- why they didn't go off and that will -- why they didn't go off will tell the investigators quite a bit about this person as will the construction of the device.
VAUSE: Does it make it actually harder to track down the bomber because it's not so sophisticated? Do sophisticated design, would that have reduced the number of possible suspects?
[01:05:11] MOORE: Yes, theoretically. But what you see is -- you know everything was -- not everything but most of the things were misspelled in these things. I don't think that was accidental. Brennan has two N's, Florida is you know, it has an A at the end of it. I think what we're dealing with here is somebody who is new to this. And for instance, the size of -- the size of the packages or size of the tubes, the pipe nipples they call them, those are things that you can buy without calling attention to yourself.
If you went in and asked at a hardware store for a three-inch diameter pipe, one feet long, threaded at the ends with end caps, somebody is going to call the police. But these things are things you can just pull right off the shelf and it might not even be metal, it might be PVC. But whatever it was, there was not a viable ignition method.
VAUSE: I'm reading a part of a statement which was issued by the Secret Service regarding the two devices sent to President Obama and Secretary Clinton. The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices. They were properly handled as such. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.
That routine mail procedure, that would be applicable to just high- profile you know, potential targets like former presidents, like the former Secretary of State as opposed to what it's done every day at Post Offices across the U.S.?
MOORE: Well, see, that's the problem. They -- you have an explosive device being put through the mail and it's not you know, it could go off before it arrives where it's going to be screened. You know, the FBI at the FBI offices I worked our mail was heavily screened. You might not believe it but some people don't like the FBI. And so this is a standard thing in government. The problem is that it could kill anybody from the person picking up the package out of a mailbox or a mailbox receptacle all the way to the time it gets to the secure area.
VAUSE: We like the FBI, Steve, and we like you. One more question before you go. On the one hand, you've got the fact that these are very basic pipe bombs which actually didn't explode, but on the other hand you know, this appears to be at one extreme and -- what an attempted assassination attempt on two former U.S. Presidents and it doesn't get a whole lot more serious than that.
MOORE: Yes, this is -- this is an act of domestic terrorism. I -- you know, regardless of what you believe, I work domestic terrorism for most of my FBI career. This will be investigated by domestic terrorism squads. This is violence for a political end. And so this is -- this should be taken extremely serious. If you are a conservative, you need to take this extremely seriously. This is the beginning of the unraveling of our system. If both sides in and both sides rhetoric is crazy right now, you can't just say we're not going to be civil to people, we're not going to -- we're not going to accept violence against people. This has to be stopped at this point by all sides.
VAUSE: Yes. And that's a good point to get us to our next story about the U.S. President. Steve, thank you. I appreciate you being with us. President Trump addressed the attempted pipe bomb attacks on Wednesday night at a campaign rally in the state of Wisconsin. If anyone was expecting a refrained even chasing Donald Trump, they would have been disappointed. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to begin tonight's rally by addressing the suspicious devices and packages that were mailed to current and former high-ranking government officials. My highest duty as you know as president is to keep America safe. The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories, have to do it. They've got to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Sam Nunberg was a former aide to Donald Trump and he joins us now from New York for more on how this current, corrosive, political climate may have played a role on this attempted bomb attacks. Sam, thank you for being with us.
SAM NUNBERG, FORMER AIDE TO DONALD TRUMP: Thank you.
VAUSE: If you listen to the President at that rally earlier tonight, and as someone who actually knows Donald Trump, would you say he genuinely believes that he has not played a major role in this in the very bitter and divisive atmosphere which exists in this country today?
NUNBERG: Well, first of all I'm speaking to you from the Time Warner building and I just want to commend the NYPD, Time Warner security, and the FBI, and everyone else that's looking into this. I humbly disagree with the premise of your question that he holds responsibility for these bombings and I've always been on the record saying whether or not whoever the commits an atrocity never blame who they support politically.
So what I do think though is the president has come out, in all fairness he has -- he has commended -- he has criticized these attacks, he has said that they are inappropriate and we will look into it. And I can assure you that somebody as Donald Trump, law and order will prosecute the perpetrators to the full extent of the law.
[01:10:36] VAUSE: With regards to the rhetoric coming from our leaders, he's a collection of sound bites, recent sound bites from the President calling out and verbally attacking essentially those on his enemies list. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fake as hell, CNN. The worst.
Hillary is a very dishonest person. If you look at the things she says, I mean they're so dishonest.
I think Brennan is a very bad guy and if you look at it, a lot of things happened under his watch. I think he's a very bad person.
And of course, the legendary low I.Q. Maxine Waters. Low I.Q. person. It was very polarized under President Obama, unbelievably polarized
under President Obama.
He'll go to a person holding a sign who gets paid by Soros or somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK. So is it just a coincidence that all the people, as well as CNN who are named by the President we're the ones who targeted by explosive devices?
NUNBERG: I think that this is probably somebody who is apolitical frankly, who's not a Republican not a Democrat and is just looking to create chaos at a time when the national media and everybody is having election intensity and would be viewing this. Look, we all look for the October surprise. That's the business we're in. With that said, I think to assign once again responsibility to Donald Trump for specific rhetoric of these bombers is just a bridge too far.
VAUSE: It's interesting you bring up you know, the -- you know, the motive was that it wasn't a Republican conservative or wasn't a Democrat because this is how you know, they're covering the story over the President's favorite news channel, over at Fox. Here's a small example.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: They're going to be looking at this as a potential terrorist motive whether it's on one side or the other. And as you correctly pointed out earlier, this doesn't necessarily mean that someone has you know, is espousing some sort of conservative ideology and targeting Democrats, it could be someone who's trying to get the Democratic vote out and incur sympathy. So you know, it could go either way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's an interesting point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Interesting point because this is --
NUNBERG: I disagree with that wholeheartedly. Once again this is not a political issue. I believe that this is somebody who does this or if it's a group of people, they do this to create chaos, to create a fear. And once again that is why I'm honored to be sitting here in the Time Warner building. And what I would say -- and what I would say is it's irrelevant if it's a Democrat or it's a Republican and I doubt by the way the actual people that did this are actually political.
Remember, these terrorists whether they're Islamists or whether they're Christian fundamentalists or whatever you want to say, they always look to do it at prime opportunities. And what is a bigger prime opportunity than the 2018 cycle which once again Donald Trump has taken on his hand -- on his shoulders. He has said that this is essentially his first reelect. And as I've been saying early on, I believe that we're going to hold the House.
You have never seen what's something like this with a sitting President holding rallies, engaging his base the way that no other president ever has in the first two years of their first term. And the President is doing this at a great risk to himself for a couple reasons, because first of all from a political point of view he is saying that if we lose the House, if the Republicans, he could very well and be impeached.
And the second reason is he has a lot of people coming after him on the Republican side, and they would love for -- they would love for Donald Trump to not be successful here. But what I think what we have now and what all the polls show is something very strange. You have a generic congressional ballot that does give the advantage to Democrats, and that is because Democrat intensity is extremely, extremely high.
But will you also have is at the same time Republicans and Democrats both had the same enthusiasm, the same interest and if Trump is able to get out his base, that is what Steve ban and my boss has been saying, if he's able to get out the space, I believe we will hold the House.
[01:14:41] VAUSE: OK. Well, we'll finish up with part of a statement from our boss Jeff Zucker. This is how it's read. The President and especially the White House Press Secretary should understand their words matter. Thus far they have shown no comprehension of that. What it sounds to me that you're saying is actually you know, the President does understand the impact that his words have and he is willing to say and do whatever he has to, to motivate his base regardless of what is said, regardless of who was vilified because he needs this success at the coming up -- at the upcoming midterm elections.
NUNBERG: I think that what has happened with Donald Trump, and this I'll -- this I'll tell you is that we are a party that we no longer want to be the party of John McCain, Mitt Romney types. And this one that might be nice to say, but those are people that at the end of the day, went along to get along.
They were hard on Republicans, soft on Democrats. They ran hard against Republicans in primaries, soft on the Democrat in the general election. Now, we are playing the win now, and everything on paper should say that Donald Trump and the Republicans should suffer major losses. Let's see what happens, I think we're going to keep the House.
VAUSE: OK. And we shall know in the coming weeks how that all plays out. That's said, thanks for being with us. Good to have you.
NUNBERG: Thank you.
VAUSE: Global, political, and economic fears send Wall Street into the tank on Wednesday. The Dow and S&P 500, so, the gains for the year completely wiped out. And the Nasdaq, and one as biggest one-day percentage drop since 2011. Disappointing tech earnings, fears of higher interest rates, the upcoming midterm elections, dogs and cats living together, all of this weighing on investors.
Right now, Asian markets are heading lower, as well. We have CNN's Anna Stewart, live in London. Global business executive Ryan Patel in Los Angeles. $5.00 who can guess for that line of that dogs and cats came from.
But Anna, first to you. The sell-off on Wall Street, it extended into Asian trading. How was the day ahead now looking for Europe?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, for Europe, we are expecting them to open in the red. Although, they registered losses yesterday. So, I wouldn't expect those losses to be too dramatic. But what's interesting about today, John, is what will drive European equities is largely what's been driving Wall Street, and that's rate rises.
Today, Europe Central Bank meets for its rate-setting meeting and investors will be looking for any guidance on rate rises for next year, and of course, the end of (INAUDIBLE) this year. We're looking at the end of cheap money, essentially. So, a very similar story here in Europe.
VAUSE: Taking the punch bowl away, it had to happen sometimes. Ryan, let's take at the Futures right now. Because last time I look Dow up just a tinsy-winsy little bit. Usually, what you have our sell-off on one market leads to sell-off onto another, or onto another. There we go, they're still just up earning by hair.
If there is just a down day in Europe, that sets the scene for a negative day on Wall Street. At least, that's how it used to be, then, you get into this cycle, right?
RYAN PATEL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, and I think with why I think you're seeing it flat is there, Wall Street's hoping the earnings that are still coming out with Alphabet and some of these other tech companies are going to maybe potentially push it forward. But you know, you saw in the Asian market, it definitely took a hit and -- you know, I think tomorrow is going to be a very interest -- interesting open in the market to see how it reacts because it has been two days like this.
VAUSE: Yes, back to you Anna, because just a few weeks ago, we're talking about record highs in the U.S. strong economy, low unemployment, you know, high consumer confidence. It didn't last long? What happened?
STEWART: Well, but that problem is, John, is good news isn't always good news of the economy. I mean, strong economic growth means more rate rises are more likely. So, I'm going to keep banging that cheap money drama. It's coming to an end, the party is over, and that is going to hit companies profit line, essentially.
And in addition, John, some of these businesses are starting to factor in higher costs -- higher production costs, and a lot of that comes down to President Trump's tariffs.
For instance, Caterpillar, the heavy equipment maker in the United States said the rising cost of steel are making costs more expensive for them.
VAUSE: Yes. Ryan, if only someone had predicted that a global trade war imposing tariffs would actually hit company earnings, and when I say if only someone had warned, I mean, actually, everyone had warned.
PATEL: I think you and I talk about this too much, quite often.
VAUSE: Endlessly.
PATEL: But listen, I think, what's happening right now is the valuations. Think about this, you know, we just -- were talking about supply chain, cost of goods, margins going down. But the valuation these companies have took a huge hit, and this is what's happening with on top of that is that with trade wars that are coming through this.
But you're going to see more data coming up in the next few months that it really is this impactful piece. And this is what's got investors scared now. It's -- they've been scared before with the interest rates, but they're scared more now because they don't see an end to this.
And when the leaders of corporations come out and start talking about, well, they're going to pass on cost. What are they going to do with the rising cost? That gets Wall Street very nervous because there is no plan right now.
VAUSE: I also just wonder if U.S. stocks have a mega problem not make America great again, but Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon -- you know, tech stocks, in general, makeup more than what 26 percent of the S&P 500. It's the biggest of any sector. So, you get volatility in those stocks, you know. And that just has this knock-on effect, though, you know, those shares are all over a thousand bucks a piece. Ryan, to you.
PATEL: Yes. Well, listen, seven out of the S&P 500, seven to 11 sectors have been already deeming that in a correction territory. What I mean by that is 10 -- they were already hit less than 10 percent -- 10 percent losses from the recent highs. So, it's obviously more than just tech.
Obviously, tech is leading this but you've got other consumer materials and equipment, and still, all those things are kind of coming to that fruition. So, you know, tech -- you know, you look at Microsoft's earnings today actually was not that bad. Cloud is doing well, but what's going to be very interesting is Facebook's earnings is going to be very interesting. That they've been really dragging this group of stocks on the tech side down.
[01:20:26] VAUSE: Yes, you know, the fun had to stop sometime. Ghostbusters, dogs, and cats living together -- Bill Murray.
PATEL: Oh, you're great.
VAUSE: OK. Anna and Ryan, thank you. Appreciate it. Talk to you soon. Coming up here. After three weeks of silence, a promise of justice. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince makes its first public comments about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Also ahead, its kumbaya the DMZ. But North and South Korea are doing together to take the hostilities just down a little bit. Just down a notch, that's all, but it's important, back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, as the caravan of Central American migrants treks North, U.S. officials have begun talks with their Mexican counterparts about how to handle the caravan shouldn't reach the U.S. border.
What's being discussed is where the migrants from the caravan can be held at the border before entering an official port of entry. U.S. officials are also weighing in legality of steps that Trump administration could take as well as speeding up the deportation process, a senior homeland security official says, no decisions have been made as of yet.
And it appears, new migrant caravans might not be far behind. U.S. officials are tracking a caravan forming in El Salvador. Another one with around 2,000 migrants has moved into Guatemala from Honduras. These types of caravans are not uncommon. Central Americans often seek safety in numbers, as they make their dangerous journey towards the United States.
Saudi Arabia's crown prince has finally spoken out on the death of Jamal Khashoggi, calling it a heinous crime. And promising those responsible will be brought to justice. But as Nic Robertson reports, Saudi officials are not cooperating on key aspects of the investigation.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Turkish officials say that when their investigators came here to the Saudi consul general's residence a week ago, they were allowed inside. But once inside, their investigators were refused access to a well by Saudi officials.
On Tuesday, President Erdogan speaking to Parliament demanded that Saudi give full cooperation to Turkish investigators. Also demanded to know where Jamal Khashoggi's body is?
On Wednesday, President Erdogan took a phone call from Saudis Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. And later in the day, Wednesday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaking to an investment forum in Saudi Arabia talked about the cooperation that he has right now with Turkish officials. Saying that he would make sure that those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's killing were brought to justice.
There's been a lot of talk by Saudi officials about this cooperation with Turkish investigators which doesn't explain why it's been a week now since the Turkish investigators were denied access to the well, a potentially key place that they may want to investigate inside the consul general's residence. Nic Robertson, CNN, Istanbul, Turkey.
[01:25:56] VAUSE: Here is a sign that North and South Korea are getting along a little better these days. All border posts and weapons at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ will be removed. CNN's Paula Hancocks, following this now from Seoul.
So, Paula, I guess it's the small things which mean a lot. How significant is this development?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this is certainly a very symbolic development that the fact that this is the area, the joint security area where North and South Korean soldiers have been facing off against each other for decades.
This is where they get within just a few feet of each other. The only area really along the DMZ where this takes place. It is also the area where the North Korea leader Kim Jong-un stepped over the MDL, the Military Demarcation Line and shook hands with the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in when they met. Moon Jae-in also stepping back over the other way, as well.
So, it's a very visual image of the division of the Korean Peninsula. The -- it is where North and South Korea meet. So, the fact that this is being demilitarized, it is called the demilitarized zone, but it is at the moment one of the most heavily militarized borders on the planet.
The fact that they are pulling out the guard posts. They're going to shut down the guard post. They're pulling out the weaponry from just this one area is certainly a symbolic gesture. Now, we hear from the North and South Korean side and the United Nations command which police's this area that there will still be guards there on both sides of the border.
There'll be about 35 on each side. But they'll be unarmed, they won't be wearing vests. And the building's where this equipment would have been held, these guns would have been held in the past will be sealed up, as well.
So, that's finishing today. We do expect to have footage from the U.S. military shortly on that. And then, over the next couple of days, there'll be that verification process from both North and South Korea to make sure that each side is really keeping its word.
And another interesting point as well, John, they are also doing getting rid of landmines in the DMZ. And that the South Korean Defense Ministry has just announced that they've also found remains of what they believe to be either one or two South Korean soldiers from the Korean War.
So, just another symbol of the way that North and South Korea are working together at the moment within the DMZ. So, another interesting development there, John.
VAUSE: And yes, a lot of symbolism. I guess what was still waiting for is the substance, but the symbolism is always a good sign, the substance is on its way. Paula, thank you. We appreciate the update.
A short break. When we come back, a chilling acts of terror. The search is on in the U.S. for whoever send multiple pipe bombs to prominent Democratic figures, as well as CNN. Up next, how investigators are tracing the material used to build the bombs to find the suspect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:13] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Vause with our top news story at this hour.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the killing of Jamal Khashoggi a heinous crime and promised those responsible would be held accountable. They're bin Salman's first public comments since some of his top aides were implicated in the journalist's death.
Discussions are under way between Washington and Mexico on how to deal with the migrant caravan coming from Central America. Meantime U.S. officials say they are monitoring a new caravan forming in El Salvador and another with around 2,000 migrants which has traveled from Honduras so far to Guatemala.
Asia's stock markets are falling right now following Wall Street's plunge on Wednesday. Disappointing tech earnings, high interest rates and the upcoming midterm elections are all weighing heavily on the members (ph). The Dow and the S&P 500 erased their gains this year. The Nasdaq dropped more than 4 percent putting it into correction territory.
Back to our lead story now -- bombs have been sent to a number of prominent U.S. political figures and CNN as well. None of the devices blew up and no one was injured. But now a manhunt is under way to find the person or the people responsible for what's being called an act of terrorism.
Details from Jim Sciutto.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYAN PAARMANN, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, COUNTERTERRORISM DIVISION: We will turn over every rock. We will turn every corner and we will talk to everybody that we have to in order to mitigate this threat.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The FBI is actively investigating the explosive device sent to CNN's New York offices. This after a string of devices were sent to the homes and offices of prominent public figures including two former presidents. Authorities are now calling these attempted attacks acts of terror.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: We will take every precaution we can. But we will not let terrorism win. Not today, not ever.
SCIUTTO: The device sent to CNN which was addressed to former CIA director John Brennan contained a suspicious white powder as well. It was removed from CNN's offices and taken to an NYPD facility in the Bronx to be analyzed -- this, according to a law enforcement official.
This is the moment a fire alarm went off in our New York offices at 10:09 Eastern time. -- explosive devices and they have projectiles. I mean that's --
excuse me -- that sounds like a -- a fire alarm here. We'll keep you posted on that.
The package delivered to CNN was among a series of bombs sent this week to distinguished Democratic leaders, including the D.C. Home of former President Obama and the New York home of former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are fine thanks to the men and women of the Secret Service who intercepted the package addressed to us long before it made its way to our home.
SCIUTTO: Another suspicious package intercepted at a mail sorting facility for Capitol Hill addressed to Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters -- a frequent target of President Trump's.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes. She is a low IQ individual -- Maxine Waters.
SCIUTTO: Earlier this week on Monday, a bomb was sent to the upstate New York home of wealthy Democratic donor George Soros -- another favorite target of Trump and right-wing conspiracy theorists.
Today President Trump spoke out against the threats.
TRUMP: In these times, we have to unify. We have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in United States of America.
SCIUTTO: However, the President has often inflamed the political rhetoric. His crowd in Houston on Monday broke into a "CNN sucks" chant.
TRUMP: I don't like them either.
[01:35:00] SCIUTTO: Tonight officials are urging members of the public and politicians to stop the hateful rhetoric for the sake of safety.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: It would be wrong at this moment to start pointing fingers and calling names. But it's right to say creating a peaceful, respectful approach and a peaceful, respectful society starts at the top.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Sam Rabadi is a former special agent in charge at the ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and he joins us now from Philadelphia.
Ok. Sam -- it seems, you know, one of the big keys to this investigation -- it's almost a reverse investigation here in trying to find out the person who actually built those devices and find out where they got those materials from. You know, investigators I guess, they'll be checking this ATF database out there trying to cross-match some serial numbers and then what, zeroing-in on a particular area? But that seems to be just the start of this investigation.
SAM RABADI, FORMER ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Certainly it's the start. I think we're fortunate because of the number of devices. My understanding is just the amount of potential forensic evidence in addition to investigative leads is plenty. The investigator is going to have a lot to work with.
And as you said, you're going to kind of back track the steps in how these individuals came to collect these components; with the components of the device itself, the timing switches, the power sources -- all of that work is going to be good old-fashioned police work and just trying to trace back where these items were purchased from to hopefully try to make an identification of the individual.
VAUSE: As you say, there's a lot of ground work here, a lot of traditional investigation. There's methodology to all this. There is a procedure. But quite often, there's also a pretty, you know, good degree of luck which gets, you know, a break in cases like this. So in this instance, what would a break look like?
RABADI: A break would look like an individual who may have witnessed this person coming near one of the locations where the devices were -- were transported.
Of course, that has not been fully determined. They may have been sent through the mail or through delivery service. There's various reports out there how they were delivered. But someone may have seen something that is relevant to investigators and provides that one clue.
There's also, I will add John -- that part of the investigation are going to be some modern tools that law enforcement has at its disposal, such as facial recognition systems, license plate readers -- information that can be derived from cell phone towers. So they're going to combine these modern techniques along with good old-fashioned police work, neighborhood canvases, looking for surveillance footage as well as potential witness statements to piece it all together.
VAUSE: And part of that technology is the United States Postal Service itself. It has its own surveillance program called mail imaging. It takes a photograph of the outside of every piece of mail sent in the U.S. although the primary purpose of taking the pictures is to process the mail, law enforcement agencies are able to request images of mail sent and received by a target which is under investigation.
So let's assume that these items were actually mailed, how long does it take to like take those the images and trace them back to where they were actually sent from? And then what are the chances there could be video surveillance of the person actually putting those devices actually in to the mail? RABADI: Well, there is a distinct possibility that this individual
may have done that. Keep in mind the construction of these devices was fairly -- fairly simplistic which speaks to perhaps the level of sophistication of the bomb builder and perhaps getting a little sloppy not taking certain precautions.
The -- the system that the Postal Service uses is combined with some of the other security features at their facilities. I can tell you from doing these bombings investigations in the past, our postal inspector counterparts are a critical piece of the investigation when the U.S. mail is used. There are security cameras located at many of the facilities. Some of the technologies I just mentioned are also utilized.
So they'll be an active participant in this investigation and hopefully be able to provide some clues as to the identity of the bomber.
VAUSE: And this guy does -- or woman, this man or woman -- we don't know but it certainly doesn't appear to be the Unabomber. These devices are all sent within a relatively short period of time which seems to make it a bit easier to figure out who it might be as opposed to, you know, someone who may have mailed one device, waited a few months, go from California to Texas and then mailed another.
[01:39:53] RABADI: Yes, absolutely. I think with the number of devices, I believe we were up to six today, you're absolutely increasing the chances for law enforcement to look for commonalities between the devices, the mode of delivery.
There will be something. I feel very confident the investigators are going to be able to key in on some commonality between two or more of the devices and be able to identify this individual hopefully in short order. Just a ton of evidence is my understanding that they're coming across.
VAUSE: Yes. Is it a fair statement to say at the very least, whoever sent these explosive devices was trying to make some kind of statement. If that's the case then that person would have already had plenty to say, you know, maybe on social media, maybe to friends, maybe to family?
RABADI: I'll tell you, John -- I've seen it all in 29 years of doing these types of investigations and other violent crime investigations. Especially when it comes to the mind-set of a bomber, there are times they're obviously trying to make a statement. They're trying to scare somebody.
Sometimes they can build a device to be crude on purpose or simplistic so that it scares folks. But, you know, the motivations can vary from revenge to extortion to blackmail to just trying to really even in this case, potentially make a political statement.
So that is also going to be a part of the investigation, is trying to get into sort of the mind of the bomber, looking at maybe perhaps some social media posts. They'll be doing a lot of digging to try to figure out a motivation for this person.
VAUSE: Yes. And of course, you know, there will be a lot of resources on this when there is essentially the attempted assassination of two former presidents. It is a big deal.
Sam -- thank you so much. Appreciate you being with us.
RABADI: Thank you -- John.
VAUSE: A quick break here and then Rohingya Muslims still facing the threat of genocide in Myanmar while villagers who survived an earlier brutal massacre are now telling their stories.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: A top U.N. investigator has found there has been no end to the ongoing genocide of Myanmar's Rohingya minority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Once more we are hearing about torture, mutilation, repeated massacres, gang rapes and obliteration of entire villages. All perpetrated against the Rohingya minority by the Burmese security forces. Only accountability for the crimes against Rohingya will serve the cause of peace in Burma.
[01:45:07] This is not about finger-pointing. It is about accepting the realities of what happened so that healing and accountability can occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Myanmar's brutal crackdown on the Rohingya began in August last year with one of the most horrific massacres in the village of Chut Pyin.
Amnesty International, citing witnesses says government troops surrounded the village, opened fire on those trying to escape and then burned the place down. Some who survived that horror told their stories to the "Wall Street Journal".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were performing prayers. That's when the military came and surrounded our village.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: some children told us to run for safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first thing I saw was fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They fired rocket launchers into our huts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People inside were burned alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got shot when I was coming out of our house. Then I just lay in the rice fields. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We pretended we were dead. We collected blood from dead bodies then smeared it on ourselves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The military separated the men, then selected 20 pretty women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tied our hands and legs and beat us. If I cried they would stab my arms and legs. Five people raped me. After that, I don't remember anything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Jonathan Emont is the reporter with the "Wall Street Journal" who filed that story. He's with us from Singapore. Jonathan -- thank you for your reporting. It is powerful and it is important and we don't get enough from that part of the world.
We just heard many Rohingya there talking about what they've already endured. And now we're hearing from U.N. investigators that Rohingya Muslims still living in Myanmar -- about, you know, half a million people continue to be the victims of this ongoing genocide. That just doesn't seem surprising though given the military and the government have faced certainly (ph) no consequences for their actions already -- what they've already done.
JONATHAN EMONT, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Thanks for having me -- John. Yes, that's exactly right.
Myanmar policy has not changed. So when Marzuki Darusman is talking about the ongoing genocide, he's referring to the ongoing marginalization of the Rohingya in northwestern Myanmar. So they continue to have very little access to movement. They continue to have very limited access to food, to water, to medical resources. So it's very challenging for them right now even if the (INAUDIBLE) have ended.
VAUSE: You know, what really struck me about your reporting and about these accounts that you have in -- in that video clip from the Rohingya was just how detailed, not just detailed but consistent they all were. And it seemed to be a consistency born of a shared atrocity.
EMONT: Well yes, I think that's certainly the easiest way to understand it. When I went there with many other members of the "Wall Street Journal" team, we -- we found accounts that were indeed extremely inconsistent.
And even if you forgot their stories, just the wounds that you saw displayed before you, of young girls with bullet wounds. Many people were shot in ways that suggest they had been shot from behind while they were running or from the side. And you saw knife wounds.
I mean even if you just forget the words that they were saying there's no question that something very terrible happened in that village.
VAUSE: Yes. And the surprise (ph) belief that someone could listen to these accounts and not be moved to actually try and do something. But that's the state we're in right now.
I want to play a little more from your video report which you filed for the "Wall Street Journal" for our audience. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They killed 358 people in our village. I've been collecting a list so we can get justice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband Mohammed Zobair. My Uncle Rafique.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They killed my father and my stepbrother.
[01:49:57] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My father, one sister and one brother. The military was there to kill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The military was there to kill.
Ahmed Hussein (ph), he's one of Rohingya leaders who survived one of the worst massacres. And he has this very detailed account of the crimes committed by the military. And he told you he's hoping to seek justice for his people. But boy, that's going to be, you know, a long shot, next to no chance.
EMONT: It is -- it is indeed hard to see right now how that justice would arise. Things are very much stalled on the international stage. There is an ongoing effort in the International Criminal Court to look into these crimes. But currently the U.N. Security Council, which has the authority to authorize a serious investigation has not the done so in part because Myanmar has backers on the U.N. Security Council namely China.
VAUSE: I just want to -- did you get a sense from Ahmed Hussein that he's essentially being driven by this need feed, if nothing else just to simply document what happened to record the lives that were lost or at least their existence to be recognized?
EMONT: Exactly. I mean when you -- when you go to the camps in Bangladesh and you see the -- -- all of the villagers who have survived these atrocities, there's very little for them to do. And they want to take action. I mean Ahmed Hussein has seen his little sister killed according to him and you know, many other family members as well taken away and never to return.
So they -- they want to do something and they want to make sure that this isn't all just lost. And so I think in part just to -- just so he has some way to occupy himself. So he has something to do during the day that feels productive and feels like he's building towards justice.
I think that's one of the main things that motivated him to go out and try to record exactly what happened at his village.
VAUSE: Jonathan, we're out of time. But thank you so much for your reporting. Appreciate it.
EMONT: Thank you very much -- John.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: In an exclusive CNN interview with Christiane Amanpour, Apple's CEO Tim Cook is calling for tougher privacy laws.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: Where do you see the parameters of regulation?
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: Yes.
AMANPOUR: Because you called for a federal regulation, right.
COOK: Yes. You know, usually I'm not a big pro regulation kind of person. I believe in free markets but I think we have to admit when a free market doesn't work and take an action. And in this case, it's clear that the amount of things that can be collected about you without your knowledge, maybe with your consent although it is a 70- page legal piece of paper, is it reasonable? And these things can be used for such nefarious things.
We've seen examples of this over the last several years. And we think it is time now to take this thing and put it under control because if we don't, the problem get so large that it may be impossible to fix.
[01:54:58] AMANPOUR: You actually were quite blunt in your speech today just on this issue. You're talking about profiles, people's profiles. Your profile is run through algorithms that can serve up increasingly extreme content, pounding our harmless preferences into hardened convictions. And then you say, "We shouldn't sugarcoat the consequences. This is surveillance."
COOK: Yes.
AMANPOUR: That's pretty -- that's pretty controversial.
COOK: Well, it's the truth. And I always get back to that is, what is the truth? And I do see there's a crisis. I see privacy as one of the top issues -- the top few issues of this century. I mean it is to that level.
And because of the number of nefarious things that can happen I advocate to put the user in control, completely in control of their data in a very transparent manner.
And you know, we're -- there's a lot more behind that than that. But that's the spirit of it. Your data is yours. It's not mine.
AMANPOUR: And you say if we -- if we don't get a grip and you're saying, the tech industry doesn't get a grip, if the market doesn't get a grip, then either it could get out of control or others can impose regulations at some point.
COOK: Well, just to be clear though. I'm sorry to interrupt.
AMANPOUR: No, please.
COOK: I'm not saying this to the tech industry. This is broader than the tech industry because many, many firms out there are collecting data. And so there's a whole data industry called the data broker kind of industry, right, that's sole objective is to gather data on people.
And so I made a broad speech about a very key policy element that I think is critical to every country in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: You can watch the rest of Christiane's interview with Tim Cook today -- 6:00 p.m. London time. The show is called "AMANPOUR".
There might be a World Series trophy at the end of the rainbow like the one over Boston's Fenway Park. The second straight night in Major League Baseball championship series and it certainly brought good luck to the home team. The Red Sox beat the L.A. Dodgers, 4 to 2 Wednesday night and now leads two games to none in the best of seven series. Hearts were heard breaking all over the West Coast.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us, another hour of news from all around the world coming up in just a moment. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:08]
