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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Eric Holder Visits Ferguson; American Journalist Killed; Obama: ISIS Militants Are A "Cancer"

Aired August 20, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The nation's top cop now in Ferguson, now promising to get to the bottom of the shooting that has led to days of anarchy in the streets here.

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The national lead, Attorney General Eric Holder on the ground here in Ferguson vowing to use the full resources of the Justice Department to investigate that shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white officer.

And:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The world lead, President Obama warning the terrorists of ISIS after they have overrun Iraq, spilled American blood now in the most brutal way possible, beheading an American journalist on video and threatening to do the same to another.

Also in national news, the prosecutor in the Michael Brown shooting today defending himself, as calls mount for him to recuse himself from the case -- why his critics believe he cannot approach the case without bias.

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD. I am Jake Tapper and I'm coming to you from Ferguson, Missouri, again.

We are following two major stories for you at this hour. In the national lead, Attorney General Eric Holder is in Ferguson, as the federal face of the investigation into the shooting of unarmed 18- year-old Michael Brown.

And then also, horrifically, the world lead. ISIS militants releasing a video showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley. President Obama made a statement during his vacation. The statement was one part warning to ISIS and one part eulogy for Foley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: Today, the American people will all say a prayer for those who loved Jim. All of us feel the ache of his absence. All of us mourn his loss. No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We will have much more on the execution of James Foley and on the other American journalist, Steven Sotloff, who ISIS appears to be threatening to kill in the same video unless, they say, the U.S. stops attacking ISIS targets in Iraq.

There are no announced plans for the president to visit Ferguson, Missouri, but now 11 days after a white police officer, Darren Wilson, fatally shot unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in the street here, a member of the Obama administration, Attorney General Eric Holder, is here meeting with the FBI, community leaders and students and law enforcement, including Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, who has been tasked with coordinating authorities after police were accused of heavy-handed tactics.

Holder told Johnson -- quote -- "You are the man" and hugged him.

Holder is walking into the middle of an enormously tense situation here. Just today, we were at a church next door in Ferguson in Dellwood, where the Highway Patrol is now confirming that St Louis County police officers came to a church school. Organizers at the church say the cops had a building inspector with them and they accused members of the church, community leaders of letting protesters sleep there in violation of the building code.

Here's the context. The organizers say while things have been running pretty late there these last few nights, they're not letting anyone sleep there. The school has been serving as a safe haven for protesters, offering medical help for people who have been tear gassed here during the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON BURNETT, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: We have first aid kits. We actually have organizers that come here that talk about how can we de- escalate anger and tensions.

TAPPER: And when the police came today, what were they doing?

BURNETT: I think they just wanted to come in, in order to basically see what was going on. We don't know if they took anything. We're still assessing if they took anything.

TAPPER: Some people think the police were just trying to intimidate you.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: Well, they have been intimidating us for the last couple of nights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, the latest is we spoke with organizers. And they say that despite earlier reports on other media outlets, no supplies are missing from the church, but they still claim that officers have been harassing and intimidating them.

They came through last night, they say, with semiautomatic weapons. They were there two nights ago, shining a bright light on the safe haven and they say, the church organizers, the community organizers, that the police threatened to come back again tonight.

St Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch says the grand jury will begin hearing evidence in the Michael Brown shooting today amidst all this tension, but the protesters who want to see officer Darren Wilson charged, and right now, well, they appear to be in for some disappointment, because McCulloch also says it could take until mid- October to hear all of the evidence.

There is a movement to get McCulloch removed or recused from the case. Critics charge that he is biased. They say the fact that his father, mother, brother, uncle, and cousin have all worked for the police departments, his father a police officer, was also killed by an African-American man while on a call in 1964.

Let's talk now with Charlie Dooley. He is the St Louis County executive. And he is leading the charge to the boot prosecutor McCulloch off the case.

Thank you so much for being here, Mr. Dooley. I appreciate it.

CHARLIE DOOLEY, ST LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI, EXECUTIVE: Thanks for having me, Jake.

TAPPER: I want to get to McCulloch.

But first I want to get to what we just reported on a moment ago. I know you know this church, St. Mark's. The people there say that they have the safe haven. They are trying to encourage protesters to pursue a path of nonviolence, but, yes, they are supplying an area to get medical care, have food, have water.

They say they have been harassed by your police, the St Louis County police. What's your response?

DOOLEY: Well, first of all, I'm unaware of that.

If the church wants to have a safe haven for the protesters and those that are having a peaceful demonstration, I see nothing wrong with that. It has not been reported to me that the police department is aggravating those individuals. So, again, I can't confirm or deny that report.

TAPPER: OK. Let's talk about what's going on here in the larger case. Eric Holder

is here. Are you going to meet with him? If so, what do you want to talk to him about?

DOOLEY: Well, hopefully, I do get the opportunity to meet with Mr. Holder, the attorney general.

One of the things I want to talk about, quite frankly, is why I believe that Bob McCulloch should not be on this case.

TAPPER: And let's talk about that. His father was killed by an African-American man. His father, a policeman, was killed by an African-American man in 1964. That's a long time ago. That's 50 years ago. Do you think that will cloud his judgment?

DOOLEY: Again, what it is, there has been a lot of previous cases that he have -- high-profile. There is the Mr. Thompson (ph) case that was killed about four years ago.

Nothing has been done with that situation. There's the Antoinette Green (ph) case that was shot by police taking out a cell phone. And then there was the issue of some time ago of some attributes that have happened in our community.

But the African-American has stated over and over again they do not trust his judgment. They think he's biased. They think they cannot get justice from that individual now.

TAPPER: So, it doesn't have to do with his past; it has to do with his record?

DOOLEY: It has to do with his record, insensitivity to the African- American community.

For example, it's my understanding he had 57 attorneys. Maybe two or three is African-American. That seems like that's right? No, it's not. The things he has said in the past that he shows things that -- see things that show that he's arrogant about the African-American community.

But what he don't understand, if that's what people believe, they have a right to believe what they believe. And he thinks that something is wrong with that. The other issue is this. If he is a part of the problem, he cannot be a part of the solution. That's the real problem.

TAPPER: But, Mr. Dooley, with all due respect, that's an elected position. Right?

DOOLEY: Yes, it is.

TAPPER: He keeps getting elected over and over and over and over. You don't care for his work, but the citizens of St Louis County apparently do.

DOOLEY: Again, there's a large segment of our community that has no confidence in his judgment. They have a right to feel the way that they feel. He has the right to feel what he feels.

But that doesn't take away from how they feel. Right now, across this country, there's been a lot of things to young African-Americans in this country and in this region, quite frankly. And what they're saying is, Mr. McCulloch, we have no confidence in you prosecuting this case. They have a right to feel that way.

TAPPER: He says because of his father was killed, he has more sympathy for victims, but I understand you disagree.

We are going to will have much more on this case. Mr. Dooley, thank you so much.

DOOLEY: Thank you.

TAPPER: I appreciate your coming here and talking to us.

DOOLEY: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up next, he threatened more killings of innocent Americans. He spoke with a British accent. Just who is the ISIS terrorist in this horrific video? And where is he?

Plus, Michael Brown's family meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder today. What can he tell them about the investigation into their son's death? I will ask the Brown family attorney coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper in Ferguson, Missouri.

Much more on the crisis here coming up, but, first, let's take a moment and turn to the world lead.

They say they have never been more proud of their son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE FOLEY, MOTHER OF JAMES FOLEY: Very proud of Jim. He was a courageous, fearless journalist., very compassionate American, I mean, the best of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Those are the powerful and painful words of the grieving parents of James Foley, an American photojournalist brutally beheaded by ISIS militants, ISIS terrorists.

In a video the FBI believes to be authentic, Foley was a son, a brother and a 40-year-old war reporter for the news outlet GlobalPost. He disappeared from Syria almost two years ago, after reportedly being forced into a vehicle by gunmen near the border with Turkey. He was never heard from again, until video evidence of his horrific execution appeared online, along with this threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: ISIS is now holding what is believed to be another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, a contributor to "TIME" and "Foreign Policy" magazines. He was kidnapped at the Syrian border in 2013. Now, ISIS, they are threatening his life as well if President Obama does not end military operations in Iraq.

Today, speaking from Martha's Vineyard, the president mourned Foley and compared ISIS to a cancer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has to be a common effort to extract this cancer so it does not spread.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. He's in Irbil, Iraq.

Nick, how many air strikes have there been since this video was released?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fourteen today. I don't know if that actually spans the precise timeframe, but that's what CentCom released, still clearing up ISIS presence around the Mosul dam where they've been fighting and bringing the total intervention to 84, but it is that intervention which quietly clearly spelled out in that gruesome video, Jake, has sparked the execution of Jim Foley.

We've known for some time a number of Americans have been held by ISIS or affiliated groups, they have been entirely clear precisely who held them or what they wanted, but the suspicion had been they were being held for some sort of leverage in the event that Washington finally woke up to the threat that ISIS represents not just to Europe, but potentially to the United States and I think many have seen short term goals being expansion across the Middle East, but potentially longer term targeting the United States.

We know certainly from one man who ran a welcome center for foreign jihadist recruits that passports were taken off those foreigners and kept in a filing cabinet in the back office, potentially giving the sort of emirs, the sheikhs of ISIS, the chance to regulate who go back to their homeland for any future operations. A deeply cynical and sadistic organization, Jake.

TAPPER: Nick, who else is ISIS holding in custody other than Steven Sotloff, the American journalist? WALSH: It's a complex picture and it's one that for various reasons

for their safety not everyone wants to shine a hugely strong light upon, but there are a number of Americans, some Europeans, too. Nobody knows the precise figures as well because ISIS may not necessarily be holding everybody. There may be affiliated extremist groups, too.

But it's very difficult for the families to see, of course, the Jim Foley video and to see the threat against Steve Sotloff. That impacts their psychology when they're waiting for news of their loved ones and there's been so much of a blackout since they've disappeared across Syria in the past years or so. People have been held for a lengthy period of time and Jim Foley was taken November 2012 when ISIS didn't even exist officially across Syria or Iraq, potentially by criminal gangs who may have passed down the chain in the past months or so.

So, an extraordinarily difficult time to realize that perhaps these hostages have ended up in the worst possible hands, now part of some broader social media game being played by ISIS with Washington having these warplanes above us -- Jake.

TAPPER: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you, my friend. Please stay safe.

I want to bring in CNN terrorist analyst Paul Cruickshank now.

Prime Minister David Cameron, Paul, says it looks increasingly likely that the killer on this video was a British citizen. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We have not identified the individual responsible on the video, but from what we've seen it looks increasingly likely that it is a British citizen. Now, this is deeply shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A former hostage tells "The Guardian" newspaper that he recognized the voice. He called him "John," one of three British members of ISIS who he says guard Western captives in Raqqa.

What are you hearing about this person's identity?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Jake, we don't know this person's identity yet. It seems authorities don't know who he is either. They'll obviously be examining the voice recording very, very carefully, trying to match it up with people who perhaps have travelled from London. It sounds like a London accent who they know about that have traveled to Syria.

There are around 400 British extremists who traveled to Syria and Iraq to link up with jihadist groups. So, this is a significant problem, and there are around 250 back in the U.K., Jake.

So, a lot of concern that some of these individuals could actually come back and launch strikes. TAPPER: This is a clear act of terrorism against the United States.

How strong is the potential that ISIS would be able to bring the fight to European or American soil?

CRUICKSHANK: It's very strong indeed, unfortunately -- if they wish to, if they decide to. They haven't done that yet. They haven't prioritized attacks on Western soil, but they have up to 1,000 European recruits in the ranks.

So, they have the opportunity to train them and send them back it to launch attacks. There are also hundreds of people who have fought in Iraq and Syria who are trained fighters, trained killers who are back in Europe. It's impossible to monitor all of those people 24/7.

So, there's a lot of concern that there could be retaliation in the coming days and particular concern in Europe because of the numbers of Europeans who have travelled there. But, of course, these Europeans can also travel to the United States more easily without needing a visa, Jake.

TAPPER: European officials are calling the risk of a terrorist attack in Europe greater than anytime since 9/11. I've heard American officials say that, as well.

What makes ISIS and the terror threat so dangerous right now?

CRUICKSHANK: It's the number of Europeans that are with this group in Syria which gives them the opportunity to give them tailored training to return and sort of launch bomb attacks. The jihadist movement has been energized by what's going on in Iraq and Syria.

So, there's a lot of concern, too, about lone wolf strikes back in Europe by people who are energized by these kind of videos and then acting in ISIS' name to retaliate, Jake.

TAPPER: I think probably a lot of our viewers are wondering right now, Paul, with all of the NSA surveillance and the -- and the British counterpart to the NSA, with all of the no-fly lists and all of the intrusions into who we are and how we live -- the governments of Europe and the united states really have no idea who these people are?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, they have some idea because they know some of the people who have traveled, but they don't have eyes and ears on the ground. They don't have good intelligence assets and human intelligence assets in Syria and Iraq right now. So, it's very, very difficult for them to know what ISIS is planning and what they're going to do next. Are they going to plot some sort of terror strike in the West?

They've got tens of millions of dollars. They've got training cramps. They've got Western recruits. They've got everything they need frankly to do it. They haven't done it yet. The question is, will they do it in the future? Everyone will be looking at that very, very closely, Jake, as we move ahead.

TAPPER: Paul Cruickshank, thank you so much. Coming up next, they emailed his parents, first. New details on the

note from terrorists to James Foley's parents before the American was brutally killed.

Plus, the lead prosecutor right now here in Ferguson today defending himself against accusations that he has biases, but will Robert McCulloch's past complicate a potential legal case against officer Darren Wilson?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper and I'm here live in Ferguson, Missouri, and we're going to have more on the protests here in just a moment.

But first, let's go back to our world lead, this horrific beheading by the terrorist group ISIS. When President Obama spoke about the murder of journalist James Foley, he seemed to also respond to the threat that ISIS issued him over the U.S. airstrikes in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West. But the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision, and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior. And people like this ultimately fail.

Friends and allies around the world, we share a common security and a common set of values that are rooted in the opposite of what we saw yesterday, and we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism and replace it with a sense of hope and civility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Confront this hateful terrorism.

So what does that mean? Confront with what? How? What's the strategy for defeating ISIS?

Is President Obama doing enough? Is the Arab League doing enough? Is the world doing enough?

Joining me now is Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for "The New York Times."

Peter, thanks for joining us.

What did you make of President Obama's comments today? Did you detect any change in policy at all when it came to ISIS or Iraq or even a change of tone?

PETER BAKER, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Well, no change in policy, at least not immediately. There do seem to be some discussions about what more the United States can do. He's not ready to talk about that yet and it does seem like there are request for additional several hundred American troops for security of the U.S. facilities in Baghdad.

But, you know, the question is, will this event sort of change the political dynamic at home that has, you know, called for a more restrained approach? Does it make Americans, does it make politicians here in Washington feel that ISIS is more of a threat than they had previously thought about and that, in fact, it does justify a more robust or more assertive response? That's going to be the open question for the next few days, I think.

TAPPER: The CEO of "GlobalPost," which was James Foley's employer, said just moments ago that James' parents received a letter from the terrorists of ISIS. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP BALBONI, GLOBALPOST CEO: On Wednesday night of last week, the family, the Foley family received an email from the kidnappers that was full of rage against the United States for the bombing and they stated that they would execute Jim. Obviously, we hoped and prayed that that would not be the case and we communicated quickly or as quickly as we could with the captors, pleaded with them for mercy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, we know that there were warnings ISIS was going to do this. Presumably, the White House knew about this, put them in a difficult situation. What do we know about anything that the military or others may have attempted to do to save James Foley's life or is this information just coming out?

BAKER: Yes, that information is still coming out.