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WSJ: Cohen In Recorded Phone Call Walks Back Parts Of Plea; Terror Group In Church And Hotel Attacks Well-Educated, Funded; Deutsche Bank Turns Over Some Trump's Financial Records To N.Y. Investigators; Rep. Steve King Compares Self To Jesus On White Supremacist Backlash; GOP Rep. Andy McKean Switching To Democrat Due To Trump's "Unacceptable Behavior"; FBI, Police Announcement On Case Of Missing Illinois Five-Year-Old Boy. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 24, 2019 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00] PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And the crimes that he plead guilty to, many of them were personal crimes. They weren't even crimes involving the president. Some of them were, obviously, but not all of them.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Is that the reason he said he lied about it locked in a home line of credit.

CALLAN: If I were a lawyer - if I were a lawyer representing him also, you know, they said he didn't know he was being recorded. Michael Cohen should assume he's being wiretapped and recorded whenever he speaks. Because he probably is. And when he goes into prison, all the tele phone calls are recorded. He should know. He should be careful.

BALDWIN: I think one of the reasons he told Tom Arnold is because, why plead guilty, he said the prosecutors were starting to go after his wife.

CALLAN: Yes. Yes.

BALDWIN: That was part of the reason.

I want to play one more clip, one more clip here from Michael Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: It's (INAUDIBLE)

TOM ARNOLD, COMEDIAN: Yes, yes.

COHEN: You take it, but I had a mission that I needed to fulfill, and I needed to get the truth out there. And -- and very hard when, you know, you spend 10 years taking care of somebody and their family -- look, I always knew, you know, who he was and what he was, and so on. But it didn't really matter, because it's -- he's a small microcosm of New York real estate. It's very different when you start looking into seeing what's happening now in the country, in the world.

ARNOLD: Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, I mean this is less of a legal question, but more of it lifts the veil on the relationship he had had. Interesting hearing talking about taking care of not only Donald Trump but taking care of his family for 10 years, and this is how he's left feeling.

CALLAN: Yes. I think the thing about Michael Cohen that's really interesting is he trying to portray himself as a victim. He should have been rewarded in some way, because he engaged in this activity as the person working for Donald Trump in civilian life and the presidency. Well, the thing is, if you're committing crimes when you're doing that, you go to jail if you get caught.

BALDWIN: Right.

CALLAN: He got caught. He should have been going to jail for a much longer period of time, and he's only getting three years. So it sounds like he got a pretty good deal, considering the extent of the criminal activity he pled guilty to.

BALDWIN: May 16th when he reports in.

Paul Callan, I hear you boo-hoo all the way to --

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAN: Yes, I'll be crying.

BALDWIN: Paul Callan, Kara Scannell, thank you both for that interesting piece of tape with Tom Arnold and Michael Cohen.

Let's go to the terror attacks against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. As the death toll rises, we're learning more and more about who the bombers were. Brothers in a prominent wealthy family, a young man just beginning post-graduate work and a woman. We'll have the details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:55] BALDWIN: New today in the investigation into Sri Lanka's deadly Easter attacks that killed now at least 359 people, we are learning two of the suicide bombers were brothers and members of a prominent Sri Lankan family. Sources saying they are sons of a well- known tycoon and founder of a large spice exporting company.

We know there were at least nine suicide bombers, including one woman. Sri Lanka's prime minister said the bombers were well educated. Some even studied abroad. Middle class, financially independent. And they were planning a second wave of attacks. ISIS has claimed responsibility, but there's no evidence that the group coordinated the bombings.

CNN Senior International Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is in London for us. Nick, you're learning about another suicide bomber being named by the U.K.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the nine you referred to there, yes, has named by U.K. on security sources, has been identified as Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed. Sri Lankan officials have believed they're all Sri Lankan citizens.

No indication of dual nationality or U.K. nationality for Abdul Jameel Mohamed, but we do know he studied in the southeast of England in 2006 to 2007, a short of time. It's not known exactly where he studied or precisely for how long. But this has a slightly better traveled, more worldly picture of that group of nine bombers pictured in the ISIS video in which they used to try to suggest their responsibility for this horrifying act of mass murder.

I should also point out the one security person I spoke to here in the U.K. says that it is highly likely, frankly, that ISIS was involved or linked to this particular attack.

We're hearing of the past history of two of the suicide bombers heralding from a Sri Lankan spice-dealing family, a well-to-do family. We're hearing Imsath and Ahmed Ibrahim. They're beginning to try to work out where they came from, where they've been, who their contacts were, is this as some have perhaps suggested an example of people who learned from afar these horrifying tactics to try to kill so many so fast?

Or did some of these individuals go abroad or have people come to them from abroad to teach them the complicated, technical things you need to know to commit that many acts of mass murder, more or less, simultaneously? A lot of information flooding in now.

All of it comes down to trying to work out, Brooke, whether or not this ISIS claim of responsibility is based in the aspiration to associate themselves with the most horrifying things you see around the world or was there a command/control from ISIS's hierarchy. They gave a video, they pledged their allegiance, it seems, but were they told what to do by ISIS' leaders or did they make it up themselves and chose that as their branding?

[14:40:04] BALDWIN: So many questions unanswered. We have 359 dead and hundreds of others injured.

Nick Paton Walsh, I appreciate you and what you have on the investigation.

I want to get some breaking news. As President Trump fights with Congress over his financial details and taxes, we have now learned that Deutsche Bank has turned over some of its Trump financial records to New York investigators.

So Cristina Alesci has this, our CNN politics and business correspondent. Paul Callan is back, our CNN legal analyst.

So, Cristina, to you, what do you know? CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS: These are pretty sensitive documents

that Deutsche Bank is handing over to the New York attorney general. They're tied to four specific Trump reports and projects, The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Trump Tower in Chicago, a golf course in Miami, just outside of Miami, and his failed attempt to buy the Buffalo Bills.

We know this probe was kicked off by Michael Cohen essentially telling Congress that Donald Trump inflated his assets. That's what kicked off everything. My colleague, Athena Jones, has reported when that happened, the New York A.G.'s office decided to subpoena Deutsche Bank. This is a perfect example that, even though the Mueller report is out and being picked over, it`s not over in terms of investigations. There's still a lot of outstanding questions, including SDNY's inquiry that's still open and out there.

It's going to create a situation where a lot of the people around the president that supported his business for a very long time will be asked to be put into a very uncomfortable position. These are not the kinds of documents that banks like to turn over. These are mortgage applications, loan applications, communications between --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Highly sensitive, highly --

(CROSSTALK)

ALESCI: Yes, personal bankers and their clients.

BALDWIN: This is -- again, I think of President Trump and his finances, what he has described as his red line. Given with what Cristina just said, what exactly will procedure are prosecutors be looking at?

CALLAN: I think one of the things they look at most carefully is, were the applications for the loans filled out in an honest and forthright manner or --

BALDWIN: How will they know?

CALLAN: They'll know, because they will go back and look at other records he filled and other applications he filled in other contexts --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: To cross reference?

CALLAN: Yes. To cross reference them to see if he was being honest. It's a federal crime to lie about your net worth or about your income on an application for a loan to a federally chartered bank. This could be an Achilles' heel for Mr. Trump if this stuff comes true. And Michael Cohen has constantly referenced these things as being problematic to the president. ALESCI: I want to make clear this isn't a criminal probe, but a civil

one. But it's a heavy burden on the Trump Organization, Trump's business, to handle all of these differing requests, because now you have congressional requests also. Congress is looking for bank reports as well. The House Financial Services Committee, the House Intelligence Committee. They have subpoenaed Deutsche Bank. Although maybe the account firm will not give up that information, the banks are regulated by Congress. So they're more compelled to --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Speaking of the stonewalling we've been covering, they are compelled to provide that information?

ALESCI: Yes.

BALDWIN: Great point.

Cristina and Paul, thank you very much.

The president's Fed pick says he's being Kavanaugh'd after his sexist comments. A lot of them from the past are exposed. We'll talk about that.

Also, Republican Congressman Steve King has also been censured for his racist remarks in the past. He's now comparing himself to Jesus.

Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:07] BALDWIN: He has retweeted a Nazi sympathizer, he's openly expressed hostility to immigration and defended the term white supremacist. And days after Easter, long-time Iowa Congressman Steve King is comparing the backlash he's faced over these controversies, to Jesus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: For all that I've been through, it's -- it seems even strange for me to say it, but I'm at a certain peace. It's because of a lot of prayers for me. When I had to step down to the floor of the House of Representatives and look up at those 400-some accusers, you know, we just passed through Easter and Christ's passion, and I have a better insight into what he went through for us, partly because of that experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Rekha Basu is a columnist with the "Des Moines Register."

Rekha, I see you shaking your head. I read this last night and thought, he compared himself to who? Yes, he did.

REKHA BASU, OPINION COLUMNIST, DES MOINES REGISTER: Quite frankly, every time we think we've heard the worst out of Congressman Steve King, he manages to go himself one lower. To call himself persecuted in the manner of Christ around Easter, it's not only an insult to Christ and his followers, but all the people that he has maligned because of their gender or status. So to say he's a persecuted one? That takes a lot of audacity.

BALDWIN: I want to ask about Andy McKean, the longest-serving Republican state lawmaker in Iowa. He now says he's becoming a Democrat because of Trump's -- his words -- "unacceptable behavior." Do you think that's a harbinger of things to come in Iowa, a sign of a shift looking ahead to 2020?

[14:50:12] BASU: It's actually -- well, you know, I wouldn't have said so, because Iowa -- Iowa legislators tend to be extremely conservative. But he is the second state legislator to go in that route. I'm just not seeing the same thing -- I'm waiting for the same thing to happen at the federal level in Congress. That's where it should be happening, really. But it's very interesting that it's happening here. And quite frankly, I'm delighted to see people standing up and speaking for themselves, even though they're making policy at the state level rather than the national level.

BALDWIN: Right.

BASU: I also think the Steve King effect may be having a bit of an impact. I think, just the same way that Republicans don't want to be associated with Donald Trump, there are Republicans who don't not want to be associated with the likes of Steve King.

BALDWIN: Steve King.

BASU: Right. I think that King knows that, which is why he's trying to play the sympathy card now that he's being so persecuted by everybody, 400 members of Congress. Didn't he bring that on himself? Didn't he actually -- the funny thing is he voted along with the resolution, in support of the resolution condemning him after the "New York Times" --

BALDWIN: Right.

BASU: -- reported on his Nazi, white supremacist. So he must have one of the persecutors by that logic.

BALDWIN: There you go. He keeps getting elected. I think Iowa is definitely a state to watch. With these Republicans on the state level defecting, it's a story in and of itself.

Rekha Basu, you are always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

BASU: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: You've got it.

BASU: It's great to be with you.

BALDWIN: You've got it. BALDWIN: Any moment now, the police and FBI will be making an

announcement in the mysterious disappearance of a five-year-old boy in Illinois, who, we're told, was not abducted, did not run away. We're standing by for that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & CNN HOST, "THE VAN JONES SHOW": We like to imagine after there's been a verdict that the story is over. The reality is whether the offender or the victim, the journey is just beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a sheriff's deputy at the door.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, "Louisa is dead."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember shouting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took the gun from him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shot him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it to his head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pulled the trigger.

JONES: What is it that you want to know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want him to look me in the face and tell me why he killed my mother.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know where we're going to land, but we're all in, man.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAMES BLACK, CHIEF, CRYSTAL LAKE POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is still an active and ongoing investigation and we're still reviewing and processing evidence at this time.

Special agent in charge of the FBI office, Jeff Sallet, is here with me today. He will be giving a brief statement when I conclude my briefings.

It is with heavy heart that the Crystal Lake Police Department reports we have located what had we believe to be the body of Andrew "A.J." Freund earlier this morning. During the overnight hours, investigates with the Crystal Lake Police Department and the FBI interviewed both the mother, JoAnn Cunningham, and the father, Andrew Freund Sr., after information was obtained through forensic analysis cell phone data.

Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both JoAnn and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery -- what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject, A.J. Investigators located what they believe to be A.J.'s body buried in a shallow grave wrapped in plastic in an area of Woodstock, Illinois. The McHenry County Coroner's Office is on scene with the Evidence Recovery Unit right now. The cause of death is unknown at this time, to be determined at a later date by the McHenry County Coroner's Office.

[14:55:53] Based on the current information and evidence, both JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund are being charged with the death and disappearance of A.J. Both are in police custody at this time. JoAnn Cunningham has been charged with five counts of first-agree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery, one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Andrew Freund, Sr. has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two acts of concealment of a homicidal death, and one act of failure to report missing or child death. On behalf of the Crystal Lake Police Department, I would like to thank the FBI, the and McHenry County state's attorney's office and other local, state and country law enforcement and fire department and emergency management entities. Their assistance was instrumental in bringing closure to this investigation.

To A.J.'s family, it is my hope that you may have some solace in knowing that A.J. is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice.

I would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time.

To A.J., we know you're at peace playing in Heaven's playground and happy you no longer have to suffer.

The outcome of this case is a result of the extraordinary efforts of all the investigators directly involved in this case. Because the charges resulting from this investigation are based largely on evidence recovered, we will not be providing any further details in an effort to protect the integrity of the criminal prosecution.

Thank you.

JEFFREY SALLET, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good afternoon.

Thank you, Chief Black.

To members of the community, to A.J.'s family, our deepest and heartfelt condolences on A.J.'s loss. This is not the outcome that we want to talk about when we come before you, but it is the unfortunate result in this investigation.

I spent the last two hours here with the folks that are conducting this investigation, and I want to tell you how personally proud I am to be a member of the law enforcement community, and to call the chief a partner and a friend. Listening to the emotion and the commitment that our folks as a team have exhibited over the last six days to bring justice really, really brings a lot of emotion to me, and those emotions are mixed.

One is that emotion of pride. To be part of something that is positive, which is the outcome of getting justice. Part two is the sadness that we have a dead 5-year-old child who has now been recovered based on the efforts of some incredible investigative work.

Talking through the investigation with my troops and the troops of the chief, it was apparent to me that nobody was going to sleep and nobody will sleep until justice is brought for A.J. This is the beginning of that process and the process of healing for your community and family. But please know that local, state and federal law enforcement stand side by side to ensure that we follow through, and that justice is served.

I want to thank the Crystal Lake Police Department for your incredible professionalism and your commitment to keeping your community safe. Thank you for inviting the FBI in to assist you in bringing justice.

And I want to give a personal thanks to all my troops who have been out here 24 hours a day since Thursday morning to make sure that justice is brought.

Thank you.

[14:59:56] BALDWIN: You have been listening to this news conference here, police chief, FBI. As he said it best, this is just the worst- case scenario. They are now reporting they have found the body of this little five-year-old boy, A.J. Freund.