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At This Hour

Cheating Spouse Website Hacked; Family: Texas Woman's Death in Jail Not Suicide; Republicans Comment on Trump's McCain Comments, Except One. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired July 20, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:33:46] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, millions of cheating husbands and wives should be on edge right now. Their names and other sensitive information could soon be exposed. Hackers have attacked the dating website Ashley Madison, which if you don't know, helps married people cheat. Now the company that uses the advertising slogan "Life is short, have an affair," that website itself is scrambling to keep those affairs secret.

Tech correspondent, Samuel Burke, is here with us.

You have to chuckle. It is ridiculous, but it's a massive hack as well. Tell us more about it.

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: I think there's only one group of people happy this hack, divorce lawyers. People find this site is morally repugnant but there are 37 million users of this website, Ashley Madison. On the one hand, you know, people say this is so terrible, but that's a really massive amount of people who have it and the hackers say they don't just have the records, each person's profile. They also have the financial information. Now, that may be the least of their problems because you can change your financial information. That may be the least of their problems because you can change your financial information but you can't change the fact that you've had an affair.

The craziest thing about all this, the CEO of the company that owns the website actually says that this website could improve somebody's marriage. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEL BIDERMAN, CEO, ASHLEY MADISON: It does save marriages. I think people have affairs because they don't want a divorce, their joint economic situation, their joint household, extended family. Those are things they cherish and want to continue with. What they don't want to continue with is what does or doesn't happen in the bedroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:35:15] BURKE: That same CEO is telling a security researcher he thinks this might be an inside job, not necessarily one of their employees but somebody who had access to their technical information and that may be how the hackers got their hands on all this information.

BOLDUAN: For some it might seem obvious but I guess it's worth a question, why the hackers? Do we know why the hackers targeted Ashley Madison?

BURKE: They say they're actually upset about the fact that AshleyMadison.com offers a service called Full Delete. For $15, you can delete everything on the website. And they say they don't actually delete everything on the website and they're wanting to call out the company by making all of this information public.

BOLDUAN: So they're not actually making a moral stand. It's more to do with just being able to delete information.

BURKE: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: Sam Burke, thank you very much.

We're not on the website, Samuel and I.

(LAUGHTER0

BURKE: We don't have the time.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: That's one way to put it, Samuel.

Coming up for us, she's accused of assaulting a police officer. Shortly after her arrest, she's found dead in her cell. Is it suicide or police brutality like her family fears? We're talking to the man in charge of the case for the latest on that investigation. That is next.

Plus, as the political world talks about Donald Trump and he keeps talking, one of his opponents seems suddenly silent. Where is Rand Paul? That's part of the discussion coming up.

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[11:39:50] BOLDUAN: New questions today about the death of Sandra Bland, the young black woman found dead in a Texas jail cell. Today the sheriff's office is expected to release a surveillance video from outside of Bland's cell. They say that it doesn't appear to show anyone entering that cell before her death. Police say the 28-year- old hung herself with a plastic bag while in that cell. Her family though says that she never would have killed herself.

There's been public outcry and it has been growing, including with the hash tag being created "justiceforSandy" as well as "SandraBland" being shared all over social media.

On Saturday, protesters interrupted a town hall for presidential candidates in Phoenix over this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (CHANTING)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The background here is Sandra Bland was stopped by police near Houston for failing to signal a lane change. She was arrested, though, after police say she kicked an officer during the stop.

Let's get much more on this. Elton Mathis is the district attorney investigating the case in Waller County, Texas, and he's joining us right now.

Mr. District attorney, we really appreciate it.

As we see there, we know there have been protests. We know also her family says it is unfathomable she would have committed sue sight. What's the latest on the investigation from your perspective?

ELTON MATHIS, WALLER COUNTY, TEXAS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Good morning. I want to first thank you for allowing us to have the opportunity to come here and update not only the state but the nation and the world on what's going on with the case involving Ms. Bland's death. At this point, I want to make some clarifications. I have been trying to keep track somewhat of social media and what's being put out by the media. There's two different investigations going. You have to realize that Ms. Bland was arrested by a Texas state trooper. That is the department of public safety, and they are managed as a state agency. Then you have the Waller County sheriff's department which is where the DPS trooper took Ms. Bland for her period of incarceration where she passed away. So there's an internal investigation being conducted by the department of public safety on the actions of the trooper, and then there's also an investigation being conducted by the sheriff's office as to what happened inside the jail. Now, over reaching that you have the investigation that's being conducted by the Texas Rangers into what happened inside the jail with Ms. Bland from a criminal perspective. So I hope somewhat that clarifies. You have multiple agencies involved, and as far as the criminal investigation, the Texas Rangers are also being assisted by the FBI.

BOLDUAN: There's a lot of investigations ongoing, clearly, and that really points to how serious folks are taking this. It has -- she was found with a plastic bag over her head. It was believed that she died from asphyxiation. What video exists from inside the jail and when are folks going to see that?

MATHIS: You're correct in your earlier statement. In speaking with the sheriff's office this morning, the sheriff is planning on releasing that video this afternoon. Basically the video is a shot of the booking area in the jail, and it's a shot down the hallway where you can see the doorway to Ms. Bland's cell where she was being kept. I have been informed she was in the cell alone and that at no point on the video are you going to be able to see Ms. Bland herself, but you will be able to see, again, this is from what I have been told, and I have watched the video, that no one enters or exits her cell. So that's what you're going to see. You're going to basically see a long hallway and an absence of the door to her cell being opened.

BOLDUAN: This is clearly the beginning of investigation. I know you're going to be meeting with the family. The one thing that matters with the family is was it suicide or was it something much worse. At this point, what is your determination? Where are you thinking initially how this turns out?

MATHIS: Well, at this point, we're keeping an open mind. In conjunction with the Texas Rangers, I have been consulting with them. We are treating this as a murder investigation. We have not made up our minds. We have not said that this was a suicide. The preliminary autopsy report that's coming back from the Harris County medical examiner's office is that it was ruled a suicide. However, that determination is not binding on my office or the grand jury of Waller County. That's a preliminary opinion. If it turns out that after all the evidence comes in, all the facts are reviewed, that it was a suicide, then that's what the fact finder will make, that's the determination they will make, but at this point it's way too early in the game to say this was a suicide. There's too many questions. The family raises valid points, and those need to be addressed. We need to thoroughly research what Ms. Bland had been doing the days before her death, those activities in the jail, her mental health history, and any other facts that are relevant to why she may or may not have committed suicide, and on the other side, who had access to her and what happened to her in the Waller County jail.

[11:45:31] BOLDUAN: Well, and now a nation's eyes will be focusing on this case as we're at a time of heightened sensitivity in situations like this.

Elton Mathis, we appreciate you for coming on. We'll talk to you soon, I'm sure.

MATHIS: Thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

Coming up next for us, Donald Trump may be getting headlines for his comments about John McCain but hear which topic made an audience gasp.

Plus, the horrifying moments a shark attacks a surfer. It was all caught on video. You will hear from that surfer, how he survived and what that amazing experience, horrific experience was like.

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[11:49:42] BOLDUAN: Back now to the controversy over Donald Trump, or the controversy that he seems to stir up wherever he goes. His comment over the week end that John McCain is a war hero only because he was captured. We could go over it again and again. We showed you the full extent of it at the beginning of the hour. But he questions if John McCain is a war hero.

The criticism, though, has been coming from Trump's presidential rivals in both parties following these comments. Not all of them, though, pounced. Here's how a few responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not just absurd, it's offensive, it's ridiculous and I think it's a disqualifier as commander-in-chief.

RICK PERRY, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANIDADATE & FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR: Donald Trump owes every American veteran and in particular John McCain an apology.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my view, the Democratic process is going to lead to him hearing what he is so fond of saying, "You're fired."

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: I speak for me. You heard what I said. I let Donald Trump speak for Donald Trump.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You want me to say something bad about Donald Trump or bad about John McCain or bad about anyone else, I'm not going to do it.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: There's nothing funny about the hate he is spewing at immigrants and their families and now the insults he's directed at a genuine war hero, Senator John McCain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: A range of reaction.

Let's discuss. Our political commentator, S.E. Cupp, conservative political commentator, is here, along with politics reporter, M.J. Lee.

It's great to see both of you.

S.E., I need your take on what this means but here's something that will be enlightening to our viewers. A new poll out of Iowa Republicans, the poll was taken importantly before and after from July 16 to 19 after Donald Trump's comments. You see Donald Trump in second place among Iowa Republican caucus goers. Here's the interesting part about it. That's exactly the same as a previous poll by the same university poll. 13 percent before his comments 13, percent after his comments walker with increased from 19 percent to 25 percent. Does that answer the question, S.E.? What is the impact? Does this change, those remarks about John McCain, the minds of those who have been supporting Donald Trump so far?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the support among Republican voters for Donald Trump isn't so much about a support of his policies. They're responding to the fact that he's a straight talking guy. He's inexact, gets facts wrong. That's all of us. So I think Americans have such an anathema, a recoiling for politicians and false promises and inauthenticity that they like the way Trump sounds, now the problem for the rest of the GOP field is that very few in the media are forcing Donald Trump to get specific is I saw Chris Cuomo's interview with Trump's spokesperson. He asked him the one question that you should be asking Donald Trump after he slammed John McCain on V.A. Issues -- what would you do to fix the V.A.? And he couldn't answer that. What's going to bring Trump down is forcing him to be specific. He's got big blustery statements. I don't know if he has the specifics, the substance to back on how he would get Mexico to pay for a giant wall, for example.

BOLDUAN: Or how he'd builds the best V.A. hospitals anyone has ever seen.

M.J., you've done a lot of reporting of Trump and his campaign. A lot of people do wonder, does he have policy positions? Is he making any policy plans? Is his strategy at this point, say, what he's going to say and just blast the media?

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: One thing I thought was fascinating over the weekend. He created this firestorm over his comments about John McCain. Something that didn't actually get a lot of attention were his comments about religion and his relationship with God. He's speaking at this crowd full of conservative voters, presumably people he has a better chance of winning over than any other demographic group in the country and he says comments that were extremely fascinating and showed a window into his personal life. He said, "I have never once asked for forgiveness from God." And I think all of us were so interested in what he had to say about John McCain that that comment got under covered than they otherwise would have. I think the fact that Ted Cruz we saw in this poll has -- was at 7 percent, this is a group of people that someone like Ted Cruz would love to win over. The fact that he declined to really go after Trump himself is telling of the fact that he would love to win over those voters and maybe he doesn't want to be the person getting in Donald Trump's face about this.

BOLDUAN: If and when Donald Trump does leave, he wants to pick those people up. M.J. makes a good point, how other candidates have come out talking about Trump. One person missing in all of this where everyone's starting to realize is Rand Paul. He's been absent from the political conversation, S.E. Where is he?

[11:54:56]CUPP: That's a great question. You know, I think Rand Paul has a tricky line to walk and he knows it. He's trying to appeal to a small group of conservatives who lean Libertarian but also trying to not sound too much like his dad, trying to be a little bit more mainstream. So whenever something like this, whether it's Trump or something that Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush has said, he's got a tough play because he wants this panoply of Republican voters that are spread across the spectrum on the right. And there's no one he can afford to sort of tick off. So I think he's trying maybe not a courageous play but he's trying to lay low until the field gets whittled down a bit more and he can talk about policy, like prison reform and drug laws.

BOLDUAN: It's one type of strategy. We'll see, though, is it effective? We'll have to wait and see, especially on that debate stage.

S.E., always great to see you. Thank you so much.

M.J., it's great to see you, too. Thank you.

Coming up for us, terrifying moments for an Australian surfer in competition when he's knocked off his board by a shark and it's caught on video. You'll hear from him next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:29:51] MICK FANNING, PROFESSIONAL SURFER WHO ESCAPED SHARK ATTACK: Even now, my emotions start welling up and it's --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And your mother found out. She must have been terrified.

FANNING: Yeah, I spoke to Mum. She was telling me she wanted to rip me out of the television screen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: An incredible story of survival. Go to CNN.com to see the full interview on that video once again.

Thanks so much for joining us all AT THIS HOUR.

"Legal View" starts right now.