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Whitney Houston's Daughter Hospitalized and Breathing after Being Found Unresponsive in Bathtub; Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Discusses Ongoing Fight against ISIS; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Speaks about State of NFL; Mitt Romney Announces He Will not Run for President in 2016; Vanderbilt University Students Convicted of Sexual Assault

Aired January 31, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, and welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in the NEWSROOM. We are following the breaking news of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 21-year-old daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston and singer Bobbi Brown. Bobbi Kristina is being hospitalized right now outside of Atlanta. We understand that she was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Roswell, Georgia, home this morning. In the 10:00 eastern hour she was found by her husband, Nick Gordon, along with another friend. They came into the house after running an errand, we understand, and then they found her unresponsive in the bathtub.

She was -- they did try to carry on some CPR. She was then transported to a hospital, North Fulton hospital, where we understand, according to the Roswell police she is breathing. Still unclear whether she's breathing, indeed, on her own or whether by use of a ventilator. We talked to a number of people, some of whom talked to friends of Bobbi Kristina. Our Sunny Hostin talked earlier. In fact, here's an image we just confirmed, this van arriving outside of the townhouse complex where Bobbi Kristina's body was found. We have an image also of her unit, her townhouse in Roswell, Georgia. Police tape continues to be outside the unit. Perhaps we'll bring that to you momentarily right there. That is her townhouse unit where Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive.

We talked to our legal analyst Sunny Hostin earlier who said she talked to a friend of Bobbi Kristina who said coincidentally she just happened to talk to her last night on the phone, and she seemed, Bobbi Kristina seemed to be in good spirits.

But then when we talked to "Entertainment Tonight" reporter and also contributor for CNN, Nischelle Turner. She talked about it was common knowledge that Bobbi Kristina has been struggling in the last three years as we approach the three-year anniversary of Whitney Houston being found unresponsive consequently from a drug overdose in the bathtub of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. And it's been tough because they were close. In Nischelle's word, when Whitney died, Bobbi Kristina felt she lost a part of herself. My colleague Don Lemon back with me now on the phone. Don, you and I

were both on the air the day in which we learned that Whitney Houston was found dead, unresponsive in that bathtub, and now to hear this taking place. Again, we understand that Bobbi Kristina is being hospitalized right now, is breathing. We just don't know whether she's breathing on her own or by use of a ventilator.

So Don, it's been a past difficult couple years for Bobbi Kristina. You and I talked earlier. There have been images of her perhaps using drugs, marrying someone who was raised in the family like a son to Whitney Houston, like a brother to Bobbi Kristina, but would end up marrying him. Give me idea from people you know what they have seen in Bobbi Kristina over the years.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (via telephone): Well, exactly what you said, someone who was struggling, someone who was trying to find herself, a young kid who's been in the public spotlight for all of her life, all 21 years, and someone who was carried up on the stage by her mother as a baby and never left her mothers' side. They did have their issues, you know, sometimes in the relationship, but towards the end of Whitney's life, they were best friends, they were inseparable.

And the last images of Whitney Houston, you know, it was Grammy week, 11 days from now, it was February 11, 2012, 11 days from now, we were on the air talking about the story and covering the death of Whitney Houston. They were there together. And I think she had left to go shopping or left to go to dinner, and she had left the room. And Whitney was in the room by herself, and, you know, of course, Whitney was found in the bathtub after she took some prescription medication and other things found in the system like marijuana and other things, and she was found dead in her hotel room.

And Bobbi Kristina came back and could not get to the scene and could not get to her room and caused a ruckus that evening. As I recall, and, you know, one understands because if your mother -- you'd want to be near your mother or find out what happened. And since then, she's really been struggling to find herself.

And, as you said, with sometimes photographs with what appears to be marijuana, trying to start an acting career, trying to start a singing career, not being successful with any of that, and then just recently lashing out at Angela Bassett because Angela Bassett did not choose her to star as her mother in the Lifetime movie biopic about her mom. So it's been a tough couple years for her.

WHITFIELD: We're still trying to get more information. Roswell police outside of Atlanta will only say that Bobbi Kristina was found unresponsive in the bathtub by her husband and a friend at the home. We don't know her status right now, but she is being hospitalized.

Leading up to today, you know, over the last three years, you mentioned, you know, the struggle with trying to find her way, but have there been a feeling among her family members or even in small circles that she was getting to a point where there were some sort of stabilization in her life, that she was starting to feel a little bit more comfortable even though, you know, she still missed her mom tremendously?

LEMON: There had been a feeling that she was getting it together because, you know, it's not for the -- excuse me, Fredricka -- if not for the uproar with the biopic, which was really not that big a deal. It was mostly between Angela Bassett and Bobbi Kristina, and Angela Bassett just handled it perfectly. She took the high road. This is a young girl who is struggling. But she wanted to do what was best for the project and best to serve her mother's memory, Whitney Houston's memory, and she chose an actor with chops. And she reached out to the family and reached out to Bobbi Kristine, take a look at the biopic and, you know, to, you know, collaborate as much as possible or at least be involved in some way, not that they would have creative control or anything.

But, you know, so that's about all we have heard from her recently. But then, again, the drugs and that kind of thing and finding herself, that happens to a lot of kids. It just doesn't happen in the spotlight. And we hope, we don't know exactly what's going on, we hope that that's not an issue now when it comes this latest issue with Bobbi Kristina.

WHITFIELD: Sure. We don't know the circumstances to what led up to her found unresponsive.

LEMON: And I should tell you, Fred, that not long ago I had dinner with BeBe Winans. Whitney was close to the Winans family. I had dinner with BeBe and his son right near the Time Warner Center, at the restaurant there, and we talked about it. He said, you know, it seems like Bobbi Kristina was doing better and that the family was around her and taking care of, and it did not seem to be, you know, quite the drama that's happened, you know, right after Whitney died. And they were hopeful and it was positive and BeBe didn't seem to be worried about Bobbi Kristina or the family. It appears that she was making her way, and everyone was just sort of hoping that's what would happen.

WHITFIELD: Of course, everyone is wishing her the best as she continues to be hospitalized right now at North Fulton Hospital right outside of Atlanta after being found unresponsive in the bathtub. Again, we don't know the circumstances leading up to that, but this is all we are able to share right now. Don Lemon, thanks so much. We're going to take a short break and we'll be right back with more.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. We continue to watch this breaking story, 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only daughter of the late Whitney Houston and singer Bobby Brown remains hospitalized right now outside Atlanta at the North Fulton Hospital after being found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Roswell, Georgia, home. Earlier this morning, Roswell police say that she is breathing right now. It's unclear whether it's on her own or by way of a ventilator. More information as we get it.

Meantime, we're also following a developing story out of the Middle East now. There has been a new round of airstrikes against ISIS by the U.S. and its allies. There were 27 attacks in total, 17 in Iraq and another 10 in Syria. The coalition is trying to prevent is from opening a new front in the oil rich city of Kirkuk in Iraq, and now some wonder if the U.S. will have to offer more than airstrikes if the coalition wants to defeat ISIS. During an exclusive interview with CNN's Barbara Starr, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the option is still on the table.

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CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We have to look at all the options. And I think it may require a forward deployment of some of our troops, not doing the fighting, not doing the combat work that we did at one time for six years in Iraq and we did for many, many years in Afghanistan, but to help airstrike --

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Locate targets, intelligence --

HAGEL: Those are things where we can continue to support.

STARR: You --

HAGEL: I would say, though, we're not there yet. Whether we get there or not, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, what will it take for the coalition forces to defeat ISIS? I'm joined now by David Grange. He's a retired U.S. army brigadier and general and a former Army ranger and he served in the first Iraq war. All right, glad you could be with us. We've been hearing this coalition has been able to take out several senior commanders within ISIS and retake some battlegrounds. In your view, is significant process being made?

BRIG. GENERAL DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET): I think significant progress has been made, especially with the Kurdish Peshmerga. They have retaken several key pieces of terrain and villages. They are holding Kirkuk. They are working with the Iraq forces, the Iraqi army forces. But the coalition airstrikes are key keeping the ISIS, or as the people doing the fighting on the ground, on the dash, just keeping them at bay.

WHITFIELD: So traditionally airstrikes, and correct me if I'm wrong, airstrikes would be used to help kind of clear the way so that, you know, ground forces can make their way in. In this case, since it wouldn't be U.S. ground forces in large numbers, of course not in Syria, but not even really in Iraq. Is this enough to clear the way for Iraqi forces, ground forces, to, you know, make a dent, try to defeat ISIS? Do you believe that Iraqi forces can carry through like that?

GRANGE: Not yet. I believe that the coalition -- the airstrikes, air power, has to be tied to ground forces. And the Iraqi army is not ready except for limited objectives to do that yet.

WHITFIELD: So then --

GRANGE: The effort so far is to train, equip, reorganize those forces in order to do what you just said. The Peshmerga, the Kurds has actually made the most gains, but they also are under armed and need more training. They are great mountain fighters, but now they are learning how to fight in the villages and the open areas, and they need advisers and support. And so once that happens and once that is put together, they can be more effective in taken down a lot of the ISIS locations.

WHITFIELD: All right, got it. David Grange, thank you so much. Glad you were with us. Appreciate it.

GRANGE: My pleasure, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Now to eastern Ukraine where peace talks aimed at stopping fighting between Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels have ended for the day. A diplomat with knowledge of the meetings says talks likely will not resume tomorrow. Today's session ended with no signature on any proposed documents. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins me now from eastern Ukraine. So give us the latest on how to measure progress here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This road is the one lifeline for a key Ukrainian village separatists are encircling, and it's been shelled for days. Ukraine says it has thousands of troops here, but we did not see them, just the dead and the destruction that took their lives, 12 reported killed here this day. This destroyed, you can hear shelling in the background, but so few people left here, so many having fled for their lives.

But some cannot or won't leave, and here tussle over food. About 100 here, they say, people who have farms, the elderly, those who can't leave. She says, "It's scary, of course." The man adds, "We're poor. What else are we to do?" On the ground, one light bulb and the sound of separatists nearing.

However little there is to fight over, Ukraine says they it won't give up. But it's the blasts, not their troops dominating here, the neighboring town perhaps already in separatist hands. On the way out, we see Ukrainian reinforcements. The fight here perhaps just beginning, the loss, the damage, irreversible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Now, that violence we're seeing there continuing and likely to escalate. There are strong signs from the separatists they believe that town is surrounded. And the news from Minsk, the Belarusian capital, where all sides were hoped to be gathering today and even yesterday for some form of peace talks to reinvigorate the ceasefire that never got going months ago. They collapsed. They are not likely to resume tomorrow, and I think John Kerry, U.S. secretary of state due here next week, will be deeply concerned, will be flying into an environment of increased hostility and bloodshed rather than perhaps a negotiation and talk of a settlement.

WHITFIELD: All right, indeed a potentially dangerous mission there. Thank you so much Nick Paton Walsh joining us live there from eastern Ukraine. We'll have much more from the Newsroom right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. More on this breaking news. Bobbi Kristina, the 21 -year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown, is recovering at a hospital near Atlanta. Police say this morning Brown's husband and friend found her unresponsive in the home of that couple, in the bathtub. 911 was called after they tried to perform CPR, and then she was transported to a suburban hospital there. We do understand from Roswell police she is breathing, but unclear whether it's on her own or by way of a ventilator.

Nischelle Turner who is of "Entertainment Tonight" and also a contributor here to CNN is back with us. Nischelle, do you have new information about the circumstances or Bobbi Kristina's status?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, hi, Fred. Yes, I just spoke with sources close to Bobbi Brown, and a little more information on that side of things. I'm told, number one, that her father is on the way to Atlanta, is not in Atlanta yet, but he is traveling there to be there with his daughter.

I've also been told that Bobbi Kristina's problem, and I think Sunny was alluding to this earlier, I was told, quote, "They are a lot deeper than everyone can see." I was told that the situation is serious with her and this incident that happened. They did not know if she was breathing on her own. They did not know what the status was at this very moment, but they did say that it was a very serious situation.

And I will also tell you that the family and the sources I spoke with all said they were very concerned about her relationship with Nick Gordon. They believe deeply that he is not good for her. They do believe that she has been spiraling out of control more so than she has been in a relationship with him, and they are very, very concerned about her.

So this is a situation that no one is taking lightly. They are very upset and concerned, and people just want to see her OK. But they are not sure what's going to happen here, Fred. I do need to stress that one of the things they said was it does not really look good to them at this point in time. But again, Bobbi is not there, so they are trying to figure out what is going on with Bobbi Kristina at this point.

WHITFIELD: And then, Nischelle, I realize these are, you know, personal friends of hers, and they don't, perhaps, want to reveal too much publicly, but when you say they say the problem is a lot deeper than everyone can see, are they talking about a problem specific to drug use, certain habits? Is it a problem related to having a difficult time dealing with the passing of her mom which will be the three year anniversary in just a matter of days?

TURNER: Well, I think they are concerned about all of that, Fred, to be honest with you. You know, one of the things that was said to me today that was they did not believe it was a coincidence that she was found in the bathtub like her mother was. Some of the things that she's been struggling with, you know, she's really been having a hard time since her mother passed away, and we've been talking about that, you know, all day today. So they believe that that there are some real issues that this young girl is having.

And I know that they, like Sunny said, have been trying to get some help and trying to get through to her, and were having a bit of a hard time doing that. I know the relationship with her father had been estranged, that he had been trying to get through to her, and thought he was making some strides with her and making a breakthrough. And I can tell you he is beside himself right now with worry about what's going on with her. So I know he is trying his best to get to Atlanta and hopefully will be there soon to be by his daughter's side.

WHITFIELD: Were any of these friends or even relatives willing to elaborate in your recent conversation and maybe even including today's conversation how the family or friends have been trying to help her, to what extent?

TURNER: Not specifics. I mean, she is close with some members of the family. She is close with her aunt Pat. She is close with her uncle Gary, who is Whitney Houston's brother. She is close with them. But then again, she's a 21-year-old girl who has been through a super traumatic time and had all this of play out in the public, all in front of our eyes.

Also a young girl who is trying to cope with everything that is fame and infamy brings to her. So she had not been coping well. That's just the bottom line. She has not been coping well, and they are just hoping that maybe this is the situation that can spring everyone into action and get her some help.

WHITFIELD: And again, we still don't know the circumstances in which she was found unresponsive in the tub. But the person or people that you've spoken with, since they did say they are willing to say to you they did not below the relationship with Nick Gordon, who is her husband, is a good relationship, would they reveal any more about that?

TURNER: No, they just would say simply they did not believe that he was good for her. They believed that she had been spiraling more out of control since she got with him. I not sure if she was really isolated with him, but how you used to see the pictures of her and her mother and that's all you would see was those two together. Now when you see the pictures of her, it's her and Nick Gordon, and really you only see them around one another.

So, you know, they are concerned about it. They want her to be OK, and they are concerned that she would fall into the same patterns that her mother and father were into at some point. And I will tell you what struck me when I was, you know, having the conversations, this same conversation sounded like what we were hearing about Bobby and Whitney all those years ago. This is a very odd, strange, sad cycle that I fear is playing out in front of us.

WHITFIELD: Right, lots of very worrisome parallels that seem to be unfolding right now. And again, Nischelle, February 11th, 2012, is when Whitney Houston was found unresponsive, consequently from a mix of drugs, drug overdose in the bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. You reported it, and many of us said it over the years that Bobbi Kristina has been struggling with the passing of her mom, even struggling, trying to figure out, I guess, what path to take in her life. Would it be singing, would it be acting, would it be anything in the entertainment industry? And now to hear that she would be found unresponsive in the bathtub of her home outside of Atlanta, certainly, you know, very eerie here. And --

TURNER: I did ask, Fred, also, I said, was she underwater? Do we know? They did not know that information if she was submerged in the tub, if she was above the water. That stuff they couldn't give me details on that. so we don't know exactly how she was found yet as well.

WHITFIELD: That's right. All right, Nischelle Turner, thanks so much for being with us, appreciate it.

TURNER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Let us know if you hear anything new.

Meantime, our own Nick Valencia also trying to bring us details that he's able to get there from the North Fulton Hospital where we understand Bobbi Kristina remains. Again, Roswell police say she is breathing. Still unclear whether she is breathing on her own or whether by way of a ventilator. More information on Bobbi Kristina Brown when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, it's almost here, just 28 hours to go for the Super Bowl. Rachel Nichols is covering the game when it happens for us and everything beforehand. Rachel?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there. Well, we're, obviously, expecting a spirited contest on the field, but, of course, there are a lot of issues off it as well. We had Roger Goodell, the commissioner, giving his address, state of the union, state of the NFL, as they called it, yesterday. And a lot of pointed questions about the record on domestic violence, the record on conflict of interest, the record on deflate-gate, all kinds of things that they are juggling here. And it's been interesting to see the players respond to all of that too. The head of the Players Union has had a quote floating around here this week that he's repeated several times about the success of the NFL doesn't necessarily reflect Roger Goodell doing a good job, according to him. As he put it, he said "Even the worst bartender can do well during spring break." So we're seeing a real divide here, but all of that should disappear before the game on Sunday. WHITFIELD: All right, and then tonight there is more at 4:30. You're

going to be joined by Dan Marino for your special?

NICHOLS: Yes, absolutely. Now, it's going to be great to have the old quarterback hall of famer out here on set breaking things down for us. We're also going to have a lot of special guests including a former Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. He stopped by. Take a look at a little clip from that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW BREES, FORMER SUPER BOWL MVP: We're encouraging fans to go on social media and with the hash-tag "who's going to win" make their Super Bowl predictions. And the winning team, fan base, each day at 7:00 mountain time will actually light up Verizon Super Bowl Central where we are standing right now, actually right behind us, with a light show highlighting their team.

NICHOLS: Right.

BREES: The team with the most votes.

NICHOLS: Have you voted?

BREES: No, I have not. The Saints aren't in it. I'm not voting.

NICHOLS: Makes sense. You got the Super Bowl ring. You've got the Super Bowl MVP. But I don't think you're done yet, right? How competitive are you about getting back to this game?

BREES: It's all I think about. It's what can we do this off season to put ourselves in the position to be playing for this next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Drew Brees here in Phoenix is part of a Verizon sponsorship. And it's so interesting to see all these other players who aren't playing in the Super Bowl wondering around downtown here with their sponsors, and they have to come on the shows and talk about the game, and all they would rather do it playing in the game. So it's good sport of Drew Brees to come on here and chat with us, and certainly fun to watch his determination to get back here and play himself next year.

WHITFIELD: That is cool. And it's fun to see. I'm sure the fans' response when they see somebody like Drew Brees or Dan Marino walking in the crowd, hey, wait a minute, is that --

NICHOLS: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Cool stuff. All right, thanks so much, Rachel Nichols, appreciate it.

NICHOLS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Of course, you need to tune in two hours from now at 4:30 eastern time, make sure to watch Rachel Nichols and hall of fame quarterback Dan Marino as they host "Kickoff from Arizona," CNN's inside look at the Super Bowl. And we will be right back.

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WHITFIELD: On his third try, President Ronald Reagan won the White House, but Mitt Romney will not follow in Reagan's footsteps. The two-time candidate and 2012 GOP nominee told his supporters on the phone yesterday that he will not run and wants a new face in the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that one of our next generation of Republican leaders, one who may not be as well- known as I am today, one who has not yet taken a message across the country, one who is just getting started, may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat nominee. In fact, I expect and hope that to be the case. I feel that it's critical that America elect a conservative leader to become our next president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me is Chris Moody, a senior correspondent at CNNPolitics.com, and Tara Setmayer, a CNN political common at Republican strategist. All right, good to see both of you again. Again to you, Chris, hello to you, Tara. All right, Tara, so what's the real reason in your view as to why Mitt Romney would say, no, not again, because really in the past couple of week it did seem as though he was really charging forward in making another run.

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It did, but I think the biggest reason was lack of enthusiasm.

WHITFIELD: Enthusiasm on his part or lack of enthusiasm from supporters?

SETMAYER: No, from supporters. Yes, from supports, from the base, from members on Capitol Hill. I think he didn't really realize how many people were not so keen on him running again. And on top of that, you had a lot of strategists who worked for him before that were already being taken up by other campaigns, and I think --

WHITFIELD: I.E., Jeb Bush.

SETMAYER: Correct. And the nail on the coffin was probably one of his biggest strategists who worked with him from back when he was a governor, he just jumped ship over to Jeb Bush this week. So I think the writing was on the wall for him, and he knew that he needed to get an apparatus in place sooner than later from fundraising to getting his on the ground apparatus in place. And hat window was closing relatively quickly. So with all of those things combined I think Mitt Romney realized maybe the third time's not the charm for him.

WHITFIELD: Chris, you know, another nail in the coffin also may be donors. A lot of that donor support has apparently, reportedly been committed now to Jeb Bush as well. So I wonder, then, Chris, you know, if Romney has met with Jeb Bush, he even had dinner. Is it likely that Romney may be even more influential now that he's even out of the race, maybe in an advisory role?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, CNNPOLITICS.COM: I'm not sure if he'll be more influential, because if he became the Republican nominee he's been the most influential Republican. But he is not going away. You're still seeing him engaged and involved with these candidacies. His, I believe, one of the advisers in New Hampshire he probably would not be surprised if Mitt Romney supported somebody during the primaries here.

Now, we can maybe look at his statement and see if there were any clues to who he's looking at right now. Of course, he didn't say any names, but he did say somebody new who hasn't had a chance to take his or her message across the country. So it seems like he's eager to do something or at least eager to support somebody, and he's going to involved in this process over the next year, I'm sure. He's not going away.

WHITFIELD: So Tara, who could that be? Because I thought I interpreted Romney as saying someone not as well-known as him. But, you know, he was the nominee, and Jeb Bush is definitely well-known, but it seems like Mitt was also kind of, you know, giving a nice pat on his own back saying, you know, he is kind of a leading guy most, you know, the -- with the most recognition given that he was the nominee. But who might he be talking about?

SETMAYER: But he was the losing nominee.

WHITFIELD: Right.

SETMAYER: He was the losing nominee. But what I found interesting in all of this is that with the aspect to the fundraising and bundlers, you know, Florida is a really important state when it comes to presidential politics. It's 29 electoral votes. You have both Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio flirting with the idea of running, which will be an interesting dynamic there.

But the money that you need to raise is important too. And I noticed that there was a bundler down in Florida who raised a lot of money for the current Governor Rick Scott who may not go over to Jeb Bush's camp, but she was pro-Romney. And now that Romney is out, who is she going to throw support behind in place like Florida? Is it going to be Marco Rubio? Will it be Chris Christie? They were pictured together during a campaign event.

So that kind of inside baseball maneuvering is more important right now than what we actually see out in public because it is everyone putting their campaign machines together. And those kinds of things are more indicative of who is in, who is not, who is getting an advantage and who isn't. So, sure, naturally Jeb Bush would be the winner here if you want to look for one, but Christ Christie and Marco Rubio may be the beneficiaries of Romney not being in the race as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, it's going to be some interesting jockeying over the next few months. Tara Setmayer and Chris Moody, thanks so much to both of you, appreciate it.

And we'll be right back with much more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A jury has convicted two former Vanderbilt University students of aggravated rape and related charges. Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg could serve decades behind bars for gang raping a fellow student in a dorm room in 2013. University surveillance video show the player carrying an unconscious woman through the dorm and graphic images of the assault were taken from the players' cellphones. Two other ex-players are still awaiting trial for rape and sexual battery. Lawyers for one of the man convicted now want the verdict thrown out. He says one of the jurors did not disclose they that that person is a sexual assault victim.

So let's talk more about this, CNN commentator and legal analyst Mel Robbins and HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. All right, Joey, you first. You know, will this Vanderbilt case, you know, help in the prosecution of future claims?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, I think it really could. Good afternoon, Fredricka, good afternoon, Mel. At the end of the day what you want is you want a jury to be fair. You want them to be impartial and everything else. To be clear, Fredricka, the evidence here was compelling. You saw a videotape and you saw various things being done to the victim on the videotape. And the prosecution certainly had a lot of evidence to get a conviction in this case.

At the same time, the Sixth Amendment provides and requires that there be an impartial jury. And when you have a juror on that jury who, perhaps, was not as forthcoming as to their background and didn't disclose they, themselves, they have been a victim, certainly, all parties, the defense and prosecution should have been on notice being afforded the opportunity to question them further, and perhaps they shouldn't have been on that jury.

WHITFIELD: Yes but if I could interrupt, was it an issue of not revealing it, not volunteering that information, or was the question asked of that juror and the juror was not truthful?

JACKSON: The defense is pretty clear in saying they would have certainly inquired further and that they did inquire of those issues, and, therefore, was not forthcoming in the information. So in either case it's certainly something that's relevant that should have been disclosed. The fact that it's not could have affected the verdict, even if it was a hung jury. And so certainly the defense, Fredricka, has an issue here.

WHITFIELD: So, Mel, the argument would be how prejudicial was it, then, that this juror would have been a victim of sexual assault, not reveal it, whether the person was asked it or did not volunteer it. How does that potentially influence the decision how this juror receives, dissects, evaluates information during the case?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR AND LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it could cut either way. It's an excellent question. I mean, when you think about it, there's a lot of defense attorneys, and I used to be a criminal defense attorney in New York City, that like women on rape cases because as much, as I hate to say it, women are skeptical of other women.

So let's take a step back here and let's look at this particular case, because here's the issue. On appeal, it's not a slam dunk to get a verdict overturned. In fact, it's kind of hard to do. And basically, even though they are going to be arguing that this juror did not disclose her experience as a victim of rape two decades ago and that she was then bias, or he was bias, because we don't know, what they have got to prove is that in the interest of justice, that's the standard, in the interest of justice the verdict must be overturned.

That's highly unlikely in a case where you have videotaped evidence that made the jury gasp it was so gruesome. You have a jury that was out for three hours, and now you've got jurors that are out and about talking to the media. They include several doctors on the jury, by the way, who were talking about the fact that the evidence was so compelling that the boyfriend that carried her to the dorm room in this situation, who didn't even physically do anything to her is guilty on rape as well because it was so egregious. So in the interest of justice, I kind of doubt there's going to be any kind of mistrial in this case.

WHITFIELD: So then I wonder to both of you, you know, when you hear from these young men who say, I was so inebriated, there was so much alcohol involved, I didn't even know what was going on. So there was the argument of whether they were willing participants, whether there was a conscientious effort, whether there was intent. And if you have these young men who say there was so much alcohol flowing, they were so drunk, even if they want to appeal or make the argument of appeal, is that enough to say there was no willfulness here?

ROBBINS: No, no, absolutely not.

WHITFIELD: Joey?

ROBBINS: Absolutely not. There are people who get wasted all the time and they don't commit a Class A felony of rape. And also, in addition to these guys, there's two other codefendants who have yet to be tried, and there are other friends, by the way, who saw the videotape who weren't wasted who have now pled guilty to misdemeanor because they passed along the videos.

WHITFIELD: Because one defendant said I didn't even know until I saw the videotape, I, myself, you know, was ashamed, and even tried to apologize to the victim. So, Joey, you know, that kind of distance of responsibility or awareness, that's just not defense enough.

JACKSON: It isn't. And a few points here, Fredricka, briefly. The first one is voluntary intoxication in and of itself is not going to be a defense. Why? Because then anybody and everybody who gets drunk will say, I had no intent. I had no idea what I was doing. So the law says you're not going to do that. The other issue, though, relating to the jury itself is, listen, you

have a right if you're a defendant to know who those jurors are. So if there's any misrepresentation on the part of the jury, I think it is a legitimate issue for the defense to say, hey, had we had known we could have made an educated choice. maybe we wanted a juror, or maybe we did not want, you know, the juror on that particular jury. So that's certainly establishes an issue in this particular case.

And the third point, though, Fredricka, is, listen, at the end of the day, I don't believe -- it's a very high standard to me, but I'll just leave it there saying that, you know, it's an issue, I don't know necessarily that it gets overturned on that.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will leave it there. It is a sad situation all the way around. Thank you so much, Mel Robbins, Joey Jackson appreciate it.

ROBBINS: Great to see you both.

JACKSON: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now, five people are safe thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard. They were rescued after their sailboat mast broke in strong wind and 13 foot seas 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina there. A Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene and hoisting all five people off that boat.

And Next Friday, President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama are expected to attend the national prayer breakfast. No word on whether the two leaders plan to meet like they did three times before, meeting which angered Beijing. The Dalai Lama is seen as Tibet's most visible symbol of its struggle for independence from China.

And in sports, Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open right there. It was a close match, though, but the world's number one female player was able to power through, winning 6-3 and 7- 6. This is Williams 19th, can you believe it, Grand Slam title. Congrats to her.

Thanks so much for spending your day with me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. More of the Newsroom straight ahead with Poppy Harlow.