Return to Transcripts main page

Wolf

Victims Father Speaks Out; California Bar Shooting Details; Whitaker Over Russia Investigation; Return Day in Delaware; Interview With Chris Coons and Danny Short. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 08, 2018 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00] JASON COFFMAN, FATHER OF CODY COFFMAN: The companionship that my son had with his other two brothers, this is absolutely going to crush those two boys. This is going to be -- this is not going to be easy for -- for a very long time.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

COFFMAN: Yes, I got -- he has two brothers and a daughter on the -- and a sister on the way. Joshua Coffman is eight years old. Dominic Coffman is six years old. And Chase, with his mom, he has another brother. I think he's eight years old or nine years old. And then my newborn daughter that's not here yet. Here name is Aurora.

QUESTION: Where did he move from, sir? Where did he move from?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

COFFMAN: You know what, it's going to be probably in church though -- with the pastor. I don't know how -- I don't know how. I just want him to know that he -- he's going to be missed.

QUESTION: Who are you leaning on there, sir?

COFFMAN: This is my father-in-law, Mike. He -- he is -- he's my -- I love this man. He is my father. My father and mother live 10 hours north up in Clear Lake and they're on -- they're -- they're going to be -- they're going to be devastated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're -- they're on the way down.

QUESTION: Jason, there are people all over the country watching and they say, it can't happen here. And you've seen this firsthand. It's touched your family. What do you want to say to people around the country who are watching yet another senseless shooting?

COFFMAN: I can't believe that it's happen in my family. For us -- I don't -- I don't know what to tell to the other people. I don't know how to console or what to say to the other people that are going to be going through the same situation as I am. I am so sorry for their loss as well. I am -- I am speechless and heartbroken. I am -- I am -- I am -- I've been talking to you for a little while. I am -- I am pooped out. I am -- I'm -- I'm spent.

QUESTION: Jason, talk about the support that you've received and what has helped you to deal with this difficult time?

COFFMAN: You know what, I got a great support system. And absolutely 100 percent everybody, you know, I'm hearing on the news, I'm hearing from a lot of other people that there's a lot of other people that have seen me on the news and seen what's going on and I just -- I think everybody that has said -- had their hearts out for my family since this morning I've talked. And I'm so sorry to come to you guys and tell you that my life has changed now forever.

QUESTION: Jason, can you tell us a little bit about what -- what --

QUESTION: What will Cody's legacy be? What legacy (INAUDIBLE)?

COFFMAN: The legacy of love, laughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, his life was cut short at too young of age. But we have a faith in our God and our Christ and we have a hope of a resurrection.

Life is fragile. I pray every morning. Excuse me. As they drive to work because I know we had a plane crash on the 101. They drive that to work every day. And people need to understand it. It's fragile. It's precious. And life is sacred. And we should cherish it. I can't comprehend -- there's really -- we want to look for reasons. There is no reason why evil things happen.

QUESTION: What were his dreams? What did he want to accomplish?

COFFMAN: He wanted to be the big brother to these two boys and one daughter that -- and sister that's coming. That would -- he -- man, I don't know what else to say.

QUESTION: Jason, what -- Jason, what kind of things --

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)?

COFFMAN: Yes, he like -- yes, he loved working with the kids, the little kids.

QUESTION: What did -- like, what were -- what were the things that you did that made (INAUDIBLE)?

COFFMAN: Oh, my gosh, what didn't we do? You know, I -- ever since the boy -- my son was three years old, I coached him all the way up until he played high school baseball. I was the coach. I did this. I did that. He was my fishing buddy. I fished all the time and that poor boy would come with me, whether he liked it or not, fishing on the boat. That's the kind of stuff that I am truly going to miss.

[13:05:02] QUESTION: How do you feel about the one that took his life and others' lives?

COFFMAN: No comment. I don't have a comment. I feel sorry for his parents.

QUESTION: About weapons, how about weapons? Too many weapons in the country in the hands of the wrong people?

COFFMAN: No comment on that. You know everybody has their rights. You know, we all live in a free world here. The United States of America is for everybody. Guns -- guns are in the wrong hand. So --

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) closing, what do you want to say?

COFFMAN: I don't even know what to do. All I want to tell you guys is thank you very much for the support that you guys have given me today. Thank you.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

COFFMAN: I've put it up on many different screens. I've let everybody take pictures of Cody. Yes.

QUESTION: Jason, may we just get your father-in-law's full name, please?

JOHNSTON: Mike Johnston.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

QUESTION: With a t, with an h?

JOHNSTON: With a t.

QUESTION: With a t.

And, Jason, what's your last name.

COFFMAN: My last name is Coffman.

QUESTION: Coffman, thank you.

COFFMAN: C-o-f-f-m-a-n.

JOHNSTON: I'd like to thank the sheriff's department and the emergency services office and they've lost one of their own. But they are taking care of us. You know, our hearts go out.

COFFMAN: Thank you, guys.

QUESTION: Thank you.

COFFMAN: Thank you, guys.

QUESTION: Thank you.

COFFMAN: You guys are very welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

BLITZER: A truly heartbreaking moment. A father grieving for his son, Jason Coffman, speaking so beautifully about his son, Cody, only 22 years old, who was in that bar at that mass shooting, another mass shooting in America. Our hearts go out to that family. Our hearts go out to all the families, this time 12 people are dead following the attack during what was described as college night at a bar in southern California. Here's what witnesses heard.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Investigators say the gunman entered the club and opened fire. Witnesses all describe the same series of events. A night out with friends ending in a terrifying hail of bullets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was -- it was a normal Wednesday. We were at the bar, you know, having fun, dancing. And then all of a sudden you hear -- you hear like the bang, bang of the gunshots and it just started going crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean he was shooting everything from the speakers to anything. So we -- all we really saw was just smoke and we just saw the shots taking off. So we just tried to get down as fast as we could and get out of there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden everyone screamed get down. So everyone on the dance floor ran off the dance floor and ducked behind something or dogpiled on the floor somewhere and so I'm freezing and shocked at the same time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear chairs being thrown out the window. People were trying to get out the window. And the gunman went to the -- he went behind the cash register. He kept -- there was probably 12 shots before I got out the front door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, now police are in the process of telling 12 families that their loved ones are never coming home.

Jason Coffman, we just heard from him, his son Cody not coming home.

Some of the victims already have been identified, including Sergeant Ron Helus. He's a 29-year-old -- he's a 29-year, I should say, law enforcement veteran, 29 years as a law enforcement veteran. We've also just learned that he owned a personal gun safety company where he actually taught firearms safety.

And right now, take a look at this, live pictures. We're following a procession as Sergeant Helus' body is moved from the local hospital to the medical examiner's office.

CNN's Nick Watt is outside the bar where the shooter happened.

Nick, this shooter clearly, he's now been identified. First of all, what have you learned about him?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was 28 years old. He lived in the local area and he was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. Served for four and a half years. Did one tour in Afghanistan in 2010-2011, a seven month tour. He was an infantry machine gunner. Now, from eyewitnesses, we know that last night he was wearing all

black and we know from authorities that he was armed with a Glock 45 with an extended magazine. He shot the security guard outside, walked in and shot patrons and employees at the Border Grill.

And also let's just talk about Sergeant Helus a little bit more. Now, Sergeant Helus was sitting in his cruiser on the phone with his wife when the call came in. He was on the scene here within minutes. And he and a California highway patrolman, they decided that they had to go into the building. They could hear gunfire. They knew people needed help. And as the sheriff explained this morning, since Columbine, you know, the way that authorities approach these events has changed. It used to be that they would hold back and keep a perimeter. Now the direction is go in. And that's what these two men did.

[13:10:18] Sergeant Helus was hit in a hail of gunfire. He was dragged by that highway patrolman out. He was taken to the hospital where he later died of his injuries.

And as you mentioned, right now he is getting a hero's parade from the hospital to the medical examiner's office.

Now, also authorities are trying to figure out why Ian David Long did this. Now, we have heard that he had some minor brushes with the law in the past. He was apparently a victim in a bar fight back in 2015. A couple of traffic things. But most interestingly, in April of this year, deputies were called to his house, reports of some kind of disturbance. He was described by the sheriff as irate at the time. And mental health specialists were called in and the sheriff says that PTSD was considered to be an issue, but he was not detained at that time.

Last night he killed 11 people in the club plus sergeant Helus.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: All right, Nick, thank you. Nick Watt on the scene for us.

I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst Josh Campbell. He's also on the scene for us. He's a former FBI supervisory agent.

Josh, what about this profile of the shooter? Anything stand out to you?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Wolf, when these things first happen, the first question we always have is, was this terrorism, what was the motive. A lot of the questions that were unanswered at the beginning, now we're getting some of those details as far as what law enforcement is describing as this person who once served in the United States Marine Corps, which (INAUDIBLE) from a tactical standpoint. Someone who is familiar with weapons and, you know, knows how to fire presumably proficiently. We do know that, you know, within the facility behind me that he did go in shooting people that, you know, obviously did succumb to their wounds afterwards. So that's profile of him. There's also, Wolf, the brushes with the law that he's had, which Nick described, and that will be of great concern because authorities will be going back and try to determine, were there warning signs here that could have been missed, both by the Department of Defense, from the time that he was actually in the military, to now recently when he's actually had that contact with law enforcement officers. So a lot of that will be involved in this investigation, Wolf, to go back, to build that picture, again, to try to get to that motive.

BLITZER: Because you heard, Nick Watt report that police officers were actually called to the gunmen's home back in April, but they won't say what exactly for. A neighbor, however, tells CNN, it took police several hours to get the suspect out of his home. So how important could that singular event -- that event be in this new investigation?

CAMPBELL: Yes, well, in hindsight, it could have been incredibly important. Here in the state of California, there's a law they call a 5150 law. So if authorities believe that someone is in some type of psychiatric crisis or, you know, is experiencing mental health issues that make that person a danger to the public, they can actually confine that person up to 72 years and then longer if need be if they needed to commit the person again to protect themselves and then to protect others. It doesn't appear that the contact that law enforcement had with this person met that threshold where they thought that although he -- you know, it was described as being irate. They didn't actually take it to the next level and decide at that point, the officers who were actually talking with them, the mental health professionals, that he warranted confinement.

So, again, a lot of potential missed signals here. Again, that's the big debate, Wolf, that we always see after these, especially when there are mental health issues potentially involved is, were there these warning signs that could have been picked up. And then what is the line? What's the line between someone who is just acting, you know, maybe with violent rhetoric and experiencing, exhibiting signs that are troubling, to someone who might actually pose a danger to the public. Again, a huge debate, Wolf. There are no good answers. But it's obviously something all law enforcement officers will be looking into.

BLITZER: They certainly will be.

The sheriff there says that the shooter used a .45 caliber Glock handgun that is designed to hold 10 rounds, but he had an extended magazine. Are you surprised he was able to kill 12 people and wound several more with that type of firearm or would that be expected?

CAMPBELL: Yes, Wolf, the extended magazine, which would be, you know, in military circles, law enforcement circles that have that authorization to use it, it wouldn't be that surprising with this person because we know that he was in the military. We're learning those new details that he was, you know, involved in firearms as a -- potentially a hobby.

But I think, Wolf, as I do the math, I think that we're going to probably learn that there was an additional magazine because, again, with the number of people that were kill, the number of people that were injured, it appears as though this person had to have reload at some point during the course of this gunfire because there were just simply too many rounds fired that would have been more than just one magazine.

So, again, this crime scene behind me is being processed right now. It's going to take a long time as officers work through and gather all the evidence, account for every single round. But those will be details that we end up getting later on, what kind of firepower did that person bring to the bar behind me last night?

BLITZER: Yes. A mass shooting at the synagogue, only, what, about 10, 11 days or so ago. Now a mass shooting at a bar with a lot of college students. And now 11 people were killed in the synagogue, 12 people killed in the bar. Awful, awful stories that, unfortunately, are coming forward. We'll continue to cover this. We're going to come back to this story later this hour.

[13:15:11] Josh Campbell, thank you very much.

There's other important news that we're following right now, including a very vocal critic of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, he's actually now overseeing Mueller and his investigation. This as a new report reveals that the acting attorney general, and you see a picture of him right there, Matthew Whitaker, has no intention of actually recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Meanwhile, Robert Mueller is writing his final report right now, we're told, detailing his findings and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

Plus, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she's now in the hospital after falling and breaking three ribs. We'll have details. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:11] BLITZER: The new acting attorney general of the United States, Matthew Whitaker, has no intention of recusing himself from overseeing the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. That according to "The Washington Post." The story adds that people close to Whitaker are saying he would not -- repeat, not approve any subpoena of the president as part of that investigation.

Let's discuss this and more. Joining us, our CNN justice correspondent Evan Perez.

Evan, let's talk a little bit about this. Significant because if Mueller wants to, let's say, subpoena the president, he's got to get approval from the individual who's overseeing his investigation. That's no longer Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, it's the new acting attorney general.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. Exactly. Matt Whitaker is now the man in charge. The man who would makes any decisions and all important investigative steps have to be approved by the person overseeing this investigation. And that's been Rod Rosenstein until now. And now it is Matt Whitaker. Now, Whitaker has made -- he put out a statement yesterday saying that

he intends to run the department in a fair manner. You know, I've met him. He's a gregarious guy. A nice guy. But, you know, obviously there's a lot of concern because of his comments that he's made that has made clear that he views, with skepticism, the steps that Robert Mueller has taken in this investigation.

BLITZER: Last year, before he became the chief of staff to the attorney general, he was a contributor to CNN.

PEREZ: Right.

BLITZER: He was on CNN and he made several statements that are now raising some concern that maybe perhaps he should recuse himself from this Russia probe.

PEREZ: Right. Exactly. And, look, people close in the White House, for instance, who reviewed this appointment, one of the things they tell us is that they view -- that there's no reason here for a recusal because even if you consider that the statements he made while he was a private citizen last year when he was not read in on the investigation, did not know anything about it, that those may present an appearance of conflict. Under the rules of the Justice Department, Wolf, he's not required to recuse himself because of an appearance. This is something that certainly if he were to go to the ethics officer and they'd say, well, you know, you might want to -- he can -- he can ignore that.

BLITZER: And --

PEREZ: And that's what they intend to do.

BLITZER: We know Sessions went to that ethics office and they recommend --

PEREZ: Right.

BLITZER: He recuse himself. He recused himself and, of course, the president --

PEREZ: Never forgave him for it.

BLITZER: He hated that from day one.

You're getting some other new reporting and it's very potentially significant, that Mueller and his team, they're getting ready to prepare a final report.

PEREZ: Well, right. They've begun writing what we know to be the final report for the Mueller investigation. We don't know when this investigation is going to end. But all indications are, Wolf, the expectations are that this is winding down. Perhaps by the end of the year, early next year.

And so one of the things they obviously they're waiting for is the return of these questions, written questions, that the team -- that the Mueller team provided to the president's lawyers. Now, the president has been meeting with some of his lawyers to review those answers, to get them ready. When he comes back from the trip to France over the next couple of days, we expect that he's going to have a meeting with the lawyers to go over those answers. This is what we call the take home test where he has been getting these written questions. And once they provide this to Mueller, the president's legal team believe that Mueller will have everything they need as part of this investigation and we'll see whether this wraps up soon after.

BLITZER: We will see. Excellent reporting. Thanks very much, Evan, for all of that.

And joining us now, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. He's a member of the Judiciary Committee. He's joining us from beautiful Georgetown, Delaware.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

Let's -- I want to get your quick reaction to this latest report that this Matt Whitaker is the acting attorney general of the United States right now, has no intention of recusing himself from the Russia investigation despite all the public statements he's made questioning it, suggesting ways to limit its credibility, its worthfulness. What do you think?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: Well, I'm very concerned by that, Wolf. Matt Whitaker made a year ago on CNN public statements where he suggested ways in which the president could interfere with Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation by doing exactly what's happened, firing or forcing the resignation of the attorney general. Replacing him with a partisan like Matthew Whitaker. And then having him squeeze the resources of the investigation.

Whitaker should recuse himself. If they had followed the appropriate process, the deputy attorney general should be the acting attorney general. And I'm going to be calling on my colleagues to act as soon as we return next week to take up and pass the bipartisan bill that's already cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee that would further protect the special counsel.

BLITZER: Why do you think that the president rejected moving up the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, who used to be the U.S. attorney in Baltimore? Why do you think that he rejected that advice and went to this -- the man who was the chief of staff for Sessions?

[13:25:06] COONS: I'm not sure, but I'm very concerned that it was for the inappropriate purpose of trying to interfere with the Mueller investigation. We don't know that for certain yet, but it certainly is highly suspect that someone like Rod Rosenstein, who is a long- serving, well respected career federal law enforcement leader was not made the acting attorney general. Instead, Matt Whitaker, who's recently run for office as a Republican, who has only served briefly as the U.S. attorney in Iowa and has only served briefly in the U.S. Department of Justice was put in place instead. It raises some real concerns. BLITZER: Well, do you believe it's a calculated effort to remove

Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, from overseeing the Mueller probe because now Whitaker is going to oversee the Mueller probe. He'll make decisions on whether to go forward with subpoenas or anything along those lines.

COONS: That's exactly my concern, Wolf. I was encouraged that there were statements from Senator Lamar Alexander, Senator Susan Collins, Senator-elect Mitt Romney, saying the president should not use this as a means to interfere with the investigation. But we're going to have to take strong words like that and translate them into action when we get into session next week.

BLITZER: Senator Richard Blumenthal, a colleague of yours on the Judiciary Committee, says this is a break the glass moment, his words, an emergency where democracy, he suggests, is actually under attack. So what is Congress, in general, Democrats in particular, you're going to be in the minority again in the U.S. Senate, going to do to protect Robert Mueller and his Russia investigation?

COONS: The best thing we could do is take up and pass next week the bipartisan bill that's already cleared the Judiciary Committee. I also think we should call Whitaker in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But, frankly, this comes down to the Republican majority. Majority Leader McConnell has said repeatedly that it would be inappropriate for the president to interfere with the investigation. I'm very hopeful that we'll find a bipartisan strength to come together and take action to defend the investigation next week.

BLITZER: Senator, on a very, very different subject. I know that politicians where you are in your home state of Delaware today celebrating what they call Return Day where they literally bury the hatchet --

COONS: Return Day.

BLITZER: Tell us -- tell us about that and tell our -- tell us whether you think that Congress could learn a lesson from Return Day in Delaware.

COONS: That's right, Wolf. This is Danny Short, who is the Republican House minority letter here in Delaware. We, on Tuesday, had candidates up and down the state fighting hard against each other and here in Georgetown on Thursday we gathered for Return Day.

Danny, what can you tell us about Return Day?

DANNY SHORT (R), DELAWARE HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Return Day is a tradition. It has hundreds of years of tradition. And today's the day, like after the big game we all played hard and today's the day we're on the field to congratulate the other team for the hard play, whether they win or lose and just say thank you for the honest effort. And today we're going to bury the hatchet. We're going to go downtown and enjoy each other and have a good time with all the constituents that gather here in Delaware. And, coincidentally, Delaware State University will be here as a band.

And the University of Delaware will be here, my alma mater, along with Jay Flacko's (ph) school, to celebrate the day for the first time. So it's going to be a great day.

BLITZER: Well, let's hope that politicians in Washington can learn some lessons from you guys over there in Delaware. Thanks so much to both of you for joining us and good luck.

COONS: Thank you, Wolf.

SHORT: Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Other news in Florida, two recounts may be mandated. One in the U.S. Senate, one in the governor's race. In fact, the Democrat just hired a lawyer from the Bush recount team.

Plus, we're learning new details about the gunman right now who killed 12 people in a California bar. We're live on the ground. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)