Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

President Clarifies Position on ISIS; Security Increased in U.S. Embassies Ahead of 9/11 Anniversary; Interview with Rep. Ed Royce; Atlanta Hawks Owner Bruce Levenson to Sell Team After Self- Reported Racial Email

Aired September 08, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president also insisted he did not refer to ISIS as a jayvee team to "The New Yorker" earlier this year. That is a claim that fact checkers have deemed false. In the meantime the president is going to be sitting down with Congressional leader here at the White House tomorrow. At this point he and White House officials are indicating he will not be seeking congressional authorization for a mission to expand airstrikes in Syria. That is something that at this point they don't think they are going to have to do. Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jim, we'll have to hear what the plan is. And selling it to Congress will be easy -- no. Selling it to people is going to be just as hard. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Exactly right.

Also this ahead of the September 11th anniversary the State Department is tightening security at U.S. embassies around the world amid concern the possible attacks set by ISIS as well as other terror groups. Let's bring in global affairs correspondent Elise Labott for more on this. How serious are they taking these concerns? Is there any direct threat that they're hearing of, Elise?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, not really just yet, Kate. As you know since the attack on Benghazi on 9/11 a year few years ago, many posts, particularly in the Middle East, have already been beefed up. The U.S. does not believe currently that ISIS has the capacity to launch an attack on U.S. posts around the world. Preventing them from gaining that capability will be very high on the agenda during Secretary of State John Kerry's trip to the Middle East this week. He'll be meeting with leaders to shore up support for that international coalition to beat back their group.

But as 9/11 approaches, officials do tell me their biggest fears are extremists who aren't affiliated with a known terror group operating on their own. They're not necessarily getting picked up with intelligence chatter. And with ISIS in the headlines the U.S. is concerned that those types of people may undertake some type of attack to impress ISIS. And the State Department has ordered all embassies, consulates to review their security, check all the intel coming in, meet their host government to assess any security threats. For now, all U.S. embassies and consulates opened for business on 9-11. That could change, Kate, according to any threats that come up this week.

BOLDUAN: Committing an attack to impress is. That is a chilling, chilling idea. Elise, great to see you, thanks. Chris?

CUOMO: It's also very frightening speculation. So let's talk more about what's going on with Republican Congressman from California Ed Royce. He is the chair of the House foreign affairs committee. Chairman, thank you for joining us. Just to stay on immediate topic for a moment, do you have any information about any credible attacks planned around the 9/11 anniversary? Is there any real reason for people to be worried?

REP. ED ROYCE, (R) CALIFORNIA: No, we don't have information about credible planning for an attack. But what we do know is that there are several thousand Europeans with passports that allow them to get into the United States who are fighting on behalf of ISIS as well as over 100 Americans, a couple hundred Australians. And so this is one of the concerns.

CUOMO: So based on what you worry about with these passports, tell us how that threads into what you want to hear from the president. What does he have to say to you in terms of a plan the get your support?

ROYCE: I think the reason we need a strategy here is because the main focus on an anti-terrorist mission is to make certain that the terrorists do not have a base of operation, a sanctuary with which they can plan attacks against the United States. And of course ISIS right now has established that capability.

They do have the terrorist training camp in which Chechens and others are training these fighters from around the world in how to create explosives, how to carry out attacks. And so in terms of a strategy, it's important to hit that base, take it out. It's important that the fighting be done not by U.S. infantry but, instead, by the Kurdish forces, the Iraqi security forces, Free Syrian Army. We anticipate that some kind of strategy would be laid out.

Also important, that other countries, European, NATO partners, certainly the Arab League, come on board. And there was some interesting endorsements this morning from the Arab League for a strategy, comprehensive strategy to fight ISIS. But all of that takes presidential leadership. That I think is what we want to hear a strategic plan laid out, you know, that defines those goals.

CUOMO: Chairman, you know all of this much better than I do and most people watching right now. How is the fight against ISIS any different based on the criteria you offered up than what's going on with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the terrorist network in Yemen? I mean, it seems like you put a new name on something and made it a new idea, but it really isn't, is it?

ROYCE: Actually, it is Al Qaeda. This is an extension of Al Qaeda. It was another Al Qaeda franchise. And it's the same movement, and, yes, there is one of the frustrating things is that in this case ISIS was not hit for seven months when we saw them gathering and moving across the Syrian border into towns in Iraq. And as they moved across Iraq the original recommendation of the president was use armed drones, strike them while they're out on the open desert. They're an inviting target. We all saw what happened during the first Gulf War when air power was used effectively.

So we certainly are not going to support U.S. infantry on the ground, but airstrikes, airstrikes have been used for a long time against Al Qaeda. They should have been used --

CUOMO: Is it because you are afraid of --

ROYCE: We are afraid of the quagmire. That's why we don't want U.S. infantry. And we are tired of those most immediately affected in the region not carrying the burden. Why isn't it the responsibility of the Arab League and other countries in that region to provide the infantry? So what we say is, yes, we'll help army you. We'll give you the anti-tank missiles, you know, to the Kurdish forces and so forth. But no more having the United States put its infantry in there. No, no. What we have the expertise in here, where we can add value is with air power. And we want to see our allies in this fight with us. NATO's got to, you know, some of these NATO members need to step up, and so does the Arab League.

CUOMO: Amen to that. Let me see if I can get you to be the president's advocate on a couple points that are going to be key. First, you want to stop them, you have to bomb them where they are. That's what you just said. That means Syria. Would you back the president if he plans to go into Syria? That gets sticky. Assad has big air defense forces. And second, the "New York Times" has a big headline that should come as no surprise -- this could take three years. It could take 13. We have been doing this since the '90s. Would you back the president on telling the American people it's going to be a long time, it's going to be expensive?

ROYCE: First of all, in a bipartisan way, myself and Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on our committee, urged early on that action be taken in Syria to take out ISIS with the use of air power and arming the free Syrian army, OK? And the reason we did that was because ISIS was growing exponentially. The reason we need to take them out, as I said, is because they are going to use that as a base to train for other terrorists to expand the attacks. So, yes, that is necessary. That's a necessary step is to use air power to do that.

CUOMO: And three years?

ROYCE: Well, I don't think that -- I don't think any of us know how long this will take. What we do know is that, you know, if attacks had been made against ISIS with air power when they were on the move, they could have been prevented from taking this territory.

Now, there are only 17,000 ISIS fighters, so my presumption is Kurdish forces, once they are given the kind of weaponry that they've requested, Iraqi security forces, Free Syrian Army, if they're armed, there is talk of, you know, the president laying out a plan to do that. We will see on Tuesday, he'll be -- the president will layout his plan, and next week the secretary of state will come before the committee that I chair in order to go into more details on that plan, and we can understand I think the full ramifications. But I think the American public wants to hear the plan, members of Congress want to hear it laid out in terms of a comprehensive strategy, and that has not existed up until now.

CUOMO: As you know, it's a very complex situation. If we had a great strategy to do it we would be in a much different situation today than we were. We've had a trouble in strategy for over a decade-and-a- half. But Chairman Ed Royce, thank you very much for joining us. This is an ongoing conversation. Look forward to having you back on NEW DAY after you get to hear from the president and the secretary of state. Thank you, sir.

ROYCE: Thank you.

CUOMO: A lot of news this morning. Let's go you right to Michaela for the headlines.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, thanks so much. Nine minutes after the hour.

A warning from the Palestinian Authority president to Hamas, Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to break up a unity agreement if Hamas doesn't change its operations in Gaza. Abbas is accusing the group of running a shadow government and says he wants a single authority in Gaza. Abbas' comments comes two weeks after a ceasefire that ended 50 days of violence between Israel and Hamas.

Iran's supreme leader, the ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is recovering in Tehran hospital after prostate surgery. His doctor say the 75-year- old is in good condition after what they called a routine operation. No details were given on the reason for the surgery. It is rare for the Iranian government to release any information about the supreme leader's health. He has been Iran's top leader for 25 years.

The Coast Guard has halted its search for the wreckage of a private plane that ran out of fuel and crashed in the Caribbean near Jamaica. The plane was unresponsive for about four hours Friday. At one point the pilot was seen slumped over the controls. A real estate developer and his wife from western New York were on board and are presumed dead. No word when or if crews plan to resume that search.

BOLDUAN: We have a little breaking news to tell you about this morning, if you will. Breaking news, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second child we have just learned. Erin McLaughlin has the pressing details from London. So what more details are we learning about this happy little announcement?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sorry, Kate. The announcement was made by Buckingham Palace earlier this morning that the duchess of Cambridge is expecting her second child. Normally this kind of announcement would be made at the three month mark, but a palace source telling CNN that they took the decision to make the announcement sooner than that because the duchess of Cambridge is suffering from acute morning sickness, something she experienced during her first pregnancy. She had to cancel an appearance expected later today in Oxford. And she is being treated we understand at Kensington Palace by

doctors. Now, acute morning sickness is actually fairly common to be experienced by a pregnant a woman, the concern there being dehydration. But of course it is incredibly treatable.

Now, congratulations rolling in from around the world. Prime Minister David Cameron taking to Twitter saying "Many congratulations to the duke and duchess of Cambridge. I am delighted be I the happy news they're expecting another baby." Of course, we don't know if Kate is expecting a boy or a girl just yet. But that has not stopped people from speculating. One betting agency saying odds are in favor of it being a boy. Kate?

BOLDUAN: There are the odds. So it begins, the betting on what the baby will be this time around. Thanks so much, Erin. She is such a tough go the last time around. You would hope she would be blessed with less morning sickness this time. It doesn't look like it.

CUOMO: It's tough to bring royalty into the world. I like the odds maker say it's going to be a boy. You have girl, you have girl.

PEREIRA: Is that why you like the odds?

BOLDUAN: I do recall I was wrong the first time as well.

PEREIRA: I'm never right.

CUOMO: Anybody who thinks that I was following this in advance would be sorely mistaken. But I'm sticking with boy. I like it now.

Another racial controversy, another NBA owner loses his team. The owner of the Atlanta Hawks admits he e-mailed sending these messages about Hawks' fans and what kinds of fans people want there and not and black versus white. And he says they were insensitive and offensive. But it's even worse than that. We're going to tell you what he wrote, all ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Another case of racially charged remarks emerging from another NBA team owner. This time, Atlanta Hawks' controlling owner Bruce Levenson has announced he is selling his stake in the team after he self-reported an e-mail sent in 2012. In it, he writes in very blunt terms about his fanbase.

The e-mail reads in part this, and this was a pretty long e-mail. He says this. "My theory is that the black crowds scared away the whites, and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base."

Levenson was among the team owners who spoke out against the former Clippers owner Donald Sterling last spring. He said -- even spoke out to our own Wolf Blitzer about it.

Let's bring in Malik Rose, two time NBA champion and analyst for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, and also Mo Ivory, attorney and radio host. Try to get a sense of all this. Malik, what's your first reaction? I know you've read the e-mail thatLevenson sent. What's your first reaction to what he said and kind of how this is has played out?

MALIK ROSE, ANALYST, COMCAST SPORTSNET PHILADELPHIA: OK, it's almost like just another like here we go again kind of attitude. As soon as we get one fiasco behind us, here comes another one with the same kind of racial stereotypes and dealing around race and talking about one minority group as opposed to another. And it's almost -- it just saddens me and frustrates me on another level.

BOLDUAN: And, Mo, what's your take on this? Because I think I read that you found the remarks neither surprising nor painful. But do you think that he should have stepped down? Do you think this gets -- this gets to the level that he's made the right move? What do you make of all this?

MO IVORY, ATTORNEY & RADIO HOST: Well, I really feel like this was a business decision based on --

BOLDUAN: You do?

IVORY: I do. Based on, you know, something that happened to come out in perfect timing. Listen, it's profitable to be a racist in the NBA right now. And when you fall on the confessional table of bigotry, you get commended by the NBA commissioner. I think it's ridiculous.

What he did was he sat with his accountant and he said, look, there is this e-mail of me saying some things that really most people think anyway. It might be a good time for me to sell; I bought low. Let me sell high.

This is a business decision. So really, like, OK, the statement, it's not anything we haven't heard before. It might not even be anything that other owners haven't said in that close fraternity of conversation. But what it really is, is an opportunity for him to make more money, to become wealthier than he has ever been before, and sort of be the sacrificial, oh, I did this and I'm so sorry but at least I self reported. Lookit, I'm a bigot who will say I'm a bigot.

This doesn't mean anything to me. The Hawks have sucked for a while. He's been trying to sell the Hawks for a while. This is the perfect timing for him to sell the Hawks and at the same time say, oh my gosh, I'm sorry for my words.

And I think it's also very peculiar that how come the NBA hasn't come down so hard on him? There's no sanctions. There's no he's banned for life.

BOLDUAN: We haven't heard of any yet, that's for sure.

IVORY: Yes, we haven't heard of anything and we haven't heard a press conference with Adam Silver's outrage. I mean, it's just kind of like he found out about this --

BOLDUAN: Then what do you think, Mo, that the league should do? What do you think -- I mean, you said that you don't like how Adam Silver has reacted to this?

IVORY: Yes. Well, I think if the league means zero tolerance and that's it, why did it take two months for Adam Silver to say something about this e-mail that he knew about in July of 2014? If it's absolutely, you know, we are not going to stand for this and everybody who does this, every owner will be treated the same way, then why wasn't there an immediate suspension and immediate sanction?

N, they waited until they did an investigation, until the Clippers sale was complete. Listen, we have an identified lineup of potential NBA buyers, people who are interested in NBA team. Now is the time for Bruce Levenson to strike.

BOLDUAN: All right, we've lost Malik Rose. I think the signal went down for just a second.

So, Mo, let's continue this conversation. What -- do you think this raises to the level of the Sterling case? Do you think these are on par with each other? Do you think the league is now becoming more sensitive and aware? It sounds to me like you're not impressed with how the league has handled this, though.

IVORY: No, not at all. And, listen, I don't think we really have to compare like who are the bigger racists. Well, is this about -- like, they're both racist comments based on stereotypes that have been around forever. Fathers don't bring sons to basketball games? I've gone to Hawks games since I've been living in Atlanta 20 years. I've seen plenty of black fathers bring their sons to Hawks games.

So I mean, it's just a continuing stereotype. All the cheerleaders are black? I know a ton of white Hawks cheerleaders. So it's just all these -- they love to -- black people love to stay at the bar longer than other people. I know a bunch of black people that go to the Hawks games and don't drink.

So I mean, it's just like the ridiculous stereotypes that continue. This is a business deal. This was the right timing for Bruce to say, listen, I did this and I'm going to be the bigger guy. And I'm going to come forward and I'm going to self report and then I'm going to make millions or maybe even billions off of my share.

I want to see what are the Hawks going to do now after that share is sold? What is the NBA going to do after punishing another owner who was found out? Listen, it's all a part of the game of money.

BOLDUAN: What do you think -- Malik is back with us now. Malik, what do you think? Do you think that this could be more a business decision on the part of Levenson than him realizing he's wrong?

ROSE: Well, I mean, Mo is very passionate and brought up a ton of accurate, accurate issues. I mean, this story for me has only broken yesterday so I have been doing a little research on it. And there's a lot of people I talked to, they do kind of agree with her, that this is perfect timing for a sale like this. And to self report kind of protects the other business interests of Levenson, his communications groups and things like that. And then the fact that he announced it on the opening week of the NFL season so it's not going to get that much news and may fly under the radar. That's -- she is very good with that, very accurate in those assumptions..

Ad with the league, I heard her talking about why hasn't Adam Silver done something since July? I mean, I agree with her, but kind of have to remember, there's a legal process to everything. And one that was still -- you know, the Sterling issue was still hot on our plates or whatever, and it wasn't settled yet. So he had to finish one and then -- I'm not making excuses for him, but I'm thinking, he has to finish one and then he has go through the due process, all right, what happened, gather the facts, do the investigation, and then find out what he's going to do. Because there is legal recourse if he does something wrong in that time.

So while I do agree that something that should have been done or at least addressed earlier, there is a process to those things. But he's been trying to sell this team, Levenson, for a long time, since 2011 when he sold the Atlanta Thrashers, he was trying to sell this team, the Hawks, to Alex Meruelo out of California. And the deal went through, it was announced, and then it fell through. So I think she's accurate -- he's been trying to get this done for a long time. And then after you see what the Bucks and the Clippers have sold for, wow, let me see what I can cash in.

BOLDUAN: Well, and that will be an interesting -- that will definitely be an interesting part of the conversation and debate, quite honestly, as this moves forward. We'll definitely be looking at it.

And Mo raises an important point. What does the league and what do the Hawks do in light of this? What do they do to change that, if you will, that attitude if they can? Let's see what happens going forward. But it's good to have that conversation here. Mo, Malik, thank you.

And let us know what you think about all of this. There are a lot of opinions going around and we want to hear yours. Go to our Facebook page -- Facebook.com/newday. Let us know.

A virus is putting hundreds of children in the E.R. and officials say this could be just the tip of the iceberg. That's their word. So what is the virus and what can you do to protect your family? We're going to be talking to an expert about it coming up.

And the president in his interview with NBC News admits political theater doesn't always come naturally to him, like when he played golf immediately after his statement on the death of journalist James Foley? But isn't that a part of the job? It's going to part of INSIDE POLITICS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Good to have you back here with us on NEW DAY. Here's a look at your headlines.

European security officials say the cease-fire in Ukraine is holding. They warn, however, that it is shaky and that the next few days are crucial. Shelling and explosions broke out Sunday less than two days after Kiev and pro-Russian separatists reached a deal. The heaviest fighting has been near the airport in Donetsk. There are reports that rebel leaders will go ahead for an all for all prisoner exchange with Ukraine on Wednesday.

An experimental Ebola vaccine tested on monkeys appears to work after just one shot. The National Institutes of Health released the study results Sunday. The same vaccine is now being tested on humans. Monkeys tested with the vaccine showed strong resistance to the virus just five weeks after one shot. However, the study found that the resistance faded after ten months, but could be reinforced with booster shots. Meanwhile, doctors in Nebraska treating Dr. Rick Sacra, say he is making progress. But they say it's just too early to say if he will recover.

At least 100 people were airlifted by helicopter from raging flames springing (ph) from a massive wildfire in Yosemite National Park. California officials say the weeks-long fire continues to gain ground. Sunday's combination of strong winds and scorching temperatures fueled the blaze. Of course, remember, there's a drought going on there. It's now swallowed up over 700 acres of land. Helicopters, air tankers, and hot shot crews are all part of that ongoing fire fight.