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New Day

Ray Rice Ejected from NFL After Video of Violence Against His Wife Surfaces; Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Speak at Event; Obama to Present ISIS Plan to Congress Today; Interview with Rep. Jan Schakowsky

Aired September 09, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Ravens said yesterday they had no choice but to release Ray Rice. The NFL amended his two-game suspension and kicked him out of the league indefinitely. All because both parties said they hadn't seen this new video until yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (voice-over): Its the second shocking video to surface. TMZ releasing this tape of Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice brutally knocking out his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, dragging her limp body from an Atlantic City casino elevator this February.

The Ravens say they only saw the disturbing video shot from inside the elevator on Monday and after viewing it, had no choice but to drop Rice from the team.

JOHN HARBAUGH, HEAD COACH BALTIMORE RAVENS: Its something we saw for the first time today. All of us. And it changed things, of course. You know, it made things a little bit different.

TURNER: Terminated by the Ravens, suspended by the NFL indefinitely, Rice's career could be over.

HARBAUGH: It was a deplorable act. He made a terrible error in judgment.

TURNER: But questions this morning as to why team officials and the NFL hadn't seen the tape sooner.

HARBAUGH: I have no answer for that.

TURNER: The NFL says they did request the video from police but it was never given to them.

Some of Coach Harbaugh's apparent comments supporting Rice and wishing him well sparking public outrage.

HARBAUGH: You know I have nothing but hope and goodwill for Ray and Janay, and we'll do whatever we can going forward to help them as they go forward and try to make the best of it. TURNER: Seven months ago this video surfaced of Rice dragging Palmer

out of the elevator. In July the NFL suspended him for just two games. Now the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens are coming under fire for not handing down a tougher punishment in the beginning. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledging in a statement, saying in part, "I didn't get it right. Simply put, we have to do better."

RAY RICE, FORMER NFL PLAYER: That night, you know I replay over and over in my head. You know that's not me. My actions were inexcusable.

TURNER: Through it all, Palmer has stayed by his side, even marrying him in March.

JANAY RICE: I do deeply regret the role that I played in the incident that night. But I can say that I am happy, that we continue to work through it together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: Now we haven't heard anything from Ray or Janay Rice this morning, but during yesterday's press conference, Ravens coach John Harbaugh did say that he supports the couple. He says he's praying for them and he hopes that they can get through this together. Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Nichelle, let's talk about what's going on. Let's bring in Wally Williams, a former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman and a radio and TV personality for CBS Baltimore, and Mr. Coy Wire, FOX sports analyst, former NFL player. Gentlemen, thank you for joining me about this. There are better conversations I'm sure you wish we could be having about the sport, but sometimes the relevance transcends mere sport, and that's what we're dealing with this more. Coy, let me start with you and what I believe should be obvious -- do you believe that the NFL didn't know what happened in that elevator until this video came out?

COY WIRE, FOX SPORTS ANALYST: I find it hard to believe, one, that they didn't know, and that if they did want to know, there should have been a way for them to find out. Ad if not, well, then they need to hire someone from TMZ to do the investigative services for them because I think that's absurd. For them to not make an effort, a concerted effort to find out what really happened inside of that elevator, it baffles me.

CUOMO: Baffles. Baffles, hard to believe, I think those are the right phrases here. I'll get back to you in a second. Wally, the Ravens say -- you're a former ball club -- they had no choice but to release Ray Rice given what came out in the video. Do you think that's the right way to put it, that they had no choice, like they should have been trying to do everything they could to keep this guy on the squad after a scene like this?

WALLY WILLIAMS, FORMER BALTIMORE RAVENS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Well, you know, I truly believe they do have an abundance of choices that they could have went down this road and how they handled the situation. We saw a couple of different choices that were rendered. And it seems like they have backtracked on some of those early decisions that the team and organization made toward dealing with this Ray Rice situation and ultimately dealing with his wife, Janay, also. The presentation in Baltimore was this thing had moved on. The judicial system had taken its due diligence and made its decision. And the NFL ultimately made the decision on the whole deal. And as far as Baltimoreans were concerned, this thing had moved on and he was going to be reinstated back on the team on Friday. But of course the video changed everything, and I think that reaction, the national reaction towards that video dictated Ray Rice's future.

CUOMO: It changed everything for us because we hadn't seen it. The question is, you know, why didn't it change things for the NFL when they knew what had happened much earlier. Wally, do you know Ray?

WILLIAMS: Know him personally? We've done interviews. We don't hang out, but, you know, he's a Baltimore guy. I think everybody in Baltimore feels as if they do have, know Ray personally because he's a big community guy and up to this point he's exemplified everything that NFL player in Baltimore should be.

CUOMO: Wally, not to put you on the spot, but you've said in talking about this, hey, two games wasn't enough. Six to eight would have been enough. If that was your sister in that elevator, would you be happy with six to eight games or would Ray Rice be in five different pieces right now?

WILLIAMS: He would probably still be in the five different pieces, there's no doubt about that. You know, the way the situation was handled and the two games and that whole deal, I think everybody believed that that was not enough.

It's just that the protocol that was in place put forth by the NFL, put forth by our judicial system as we know it, as far as we all know, he followed that to the tee and was advised by his lawyers and everybody. So to come back now and say that this needs to have more precedent, this needs to have more punishment, I think it is a total cover-up by the NFL. They're just trying to save themselves on this one, because I think they all had the opportunity to see this video. Me and Coy has been around these buildings, and it is very secure. The security system is right there in front of you, FBI, local police, everybody is right there at the facility on a daily basis. So for these individuals not to know about this video, I agree with Coy, it's very hard to believe.

CUOMO: The lawyers like to say, it strains credulity, Coy, it strains credulity, which is a nice way of saying you got to be lying. That's what lawyers say when it comes down to how you explain a situation like this. So a very smart, handsome man with a very good-shaped head said what we tolerate is what we perpetuate. Coy, do you know who that was, and how does that apply to the NFL?

WIRE: I do know who that was, and it's a huge shaved head. I think that right now the opportunity for the NFL is significant. They have to put their foot down and can strongly consider banning Ray Rice for life. This has happened before in the NFL. Wrists were slapped. The message has not gotten across. After that video, the NFL has the opportunity to make a demanding and

commanding statement to all NFL players that hitting women is wrong, not just NFL players but the hundreds of thousands of youth that look up to those players. So, yes, what we tolerate, we perpetuate.

The NFL Players Association, also the players need to step up and say "This is not who we are. We want to dissociate from Ray Rice." They can -- they, too, can demand that Ray Rice be banned from the NFL and make a strong, impactful statement regarding domestic violence and domestic abuse.

CUOMO: And here's the thing, are we kind of like, are we kidding ourselves right now, because what have we seen with the league? The character of you two guys is not on the table here, all right? You're good men, otherwise we wouldn't have you on the show. But I feel like we're perpetuating something else that we tolerate here right now, fellows, and that is that we don't give a damn who plays in the NFL. We want our football. We want guys to be smashing their heads together. And if it turns out they have injuries later on, so be it. And if it turns out they're really bad guys, so be it.

Do you think anything is going to change in the league, Wally, after this? Do you think the league is going to do anything? Do you think Goodell is going to step down? Do you think this is about doing better, or are we just kidding ourselves?

WILLIAMS: I don't think anything is going to change significantly, no. I think yes, you can be disillusioned by some of these things and think that the league is going to take an about-face and we're going to see this Kumbaya situation where everybody comes together and the rules and what we perpetuate is going to change -- no.

The general public dictates a lot of this stuff, as we saw with the Ray Rice decision to get rid of him. The general public, they had the outcry. So, look, everybody is going to react how they need to react. But when it's all said and done, we can talk about -- we can talk about 10-15 different scenarios where the same situations were perpetuated, the player was suspended. And you know what, he's back on the field playing. We can talk about Mike Vick. We can talk about Donte Stallworth. You can talk about Ray Lewis if you want to, about situations that have come up and individuals were allowed to play at some point.

So is it going to change? No. Will Ray Rice be allowed to play at some point? I think he will. That's just the nature of the game, the nature of the country. Second chances are there. And we talk about banned for life and all these things like that, look, there have been players who have killed individuals and been able to come back and play. So I don't think this is going to change too much. It's the topic for discussion and then moving forward. They've made changes to the rule based by having a six-game suspension for your first offense, lifetime ban for the second offense, and I think that structure will be in place. And that's how everybody will move forward. I don't think it's going to be a juggle at the top with the Ravens administration nor with the NFL. CUOMO: Wally Williams, Coy Wire, thank you very much for the

intelligence on the subject, appreciate you coming on the show. I know you don't like to see football getting beaten up, but I respect you standing up for what matters more than sport in this situation. Thank you, fellas, appreciate it.

A lot of news this morning, so let's get you to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, thanks so much. Here's a look at your headlines nine minutes past the hour. Home Depot's huge credit card data hack may be the biggest breach ever. "The New York Times" reporting more than 60 million customers may be at risk. This breach involves every store in the U.S. and Canada over the past five months. Now compare that to the largest-known attack to date, Target last year, which we know affected 40 million card holders. Home Depot now says that debit card PINs and online transactions were not hacked, however.

The final primaries in the 2014 elections cycle wrap up today. Polls open in give states to pare down governor and state Senate Races and set the stages for midterm elections this fall. The contests today include Scott Brown, the former Massachusetts senator hoping to return to Washington as a New Hampshire senator, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo face as primary challenge from a Fordham Law School professor.

A fourth American infected with Ebola is about to arrive in the U.S. for treatment. The unidentified patient will fly into Atlanta this morning form Sierra Leone. He'll stay -- that person will stay in an isolation unit at Emory University hospital in Atlanta. Two other aid workers, as you know, successfully recovered from the disease at Emory. Another patient is being treated in Nebraska. Dr. Rick Sacra's recovery remains uncertain.

No signs of old political rivalries when presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made an appearance together Monday. It was all laughs and high praise when they commented on the other's leadership qualities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You always want to be underestimated by your adversaries. He consistently benefitted by being underestimated.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You told people where you want to lead in a way people could understand. And it's -- and then made decisions and stuck by them. And so -- yes. Is that enough?

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: That was a lot shorter than your answer, I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: The two in rare form. The former presidents were together to anoint a joint leadership initiative between their foundations. Not to make it about that, but did they call each other to match their outfits, because that struck me as interesting.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are so many more excerpts, so many more hilarious exchanges between Bush and Clinton. It was so funny to hear them, just kind of two guys who have gone through a lot.

PEREIRA: Kicking back.

BOLDUAN: Oh, my goodness, it was funny.

CUOMO: I'll let you know what you see play out in politics is not always the reflection of what people are personally.

BOLDUAN: True.

PEREIRA: We do know that.

BOLDUAN: Well said, Boo-Boo.

CUOMO: And what else could they wear? They either wear blue ties or red ties.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Look at you.

CUOMO: I know, but I'm on television.

BOLDUAN: Even traded grandfatherly advice, it was very funny.

CUOMO: I liked it.

BOLDUAN: You like it. Me, too. Rare agreement over here.

President Obama ready to present his strategy for defeating ISIS to both House and Senate top leaders today. One congresswoman who has already been briefed on the threat of ISIS joining us live to tell us what she heard last night, what she learned more about the ISIS threat, and what she expects to hear from the president tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President Obama will present members of Congress with his plan to go after ISIS today. Top congressional leaders he's going to be meeting with, he's going to be meeting with House and Senate leaders at the White House this afternoon. One day before making his case to the nation. Last night the CIA and others briefed the House Intelligence Committee on the terror group on the threat posed by those militants.

Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois was at that meeting and joins us live today. What can you tell us from standing outside those meetings, many a time on Capitol Hill, I know those are closed meetings and you can't discuss many of the details. But what can you tell us from what you learned in the meeting last night?

JAN SCHAKOWSKY, DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN OF ILLINOIS: What we know is there's wide international revulsion at ISIS. This is bringing together perhaps the largest coalition that we've seen of nations both European allies and the countries in the region. Those countries are saying that this idea of convert or die in fact ISIS is even killing Sunnis in Iraq. What we are hoping to see soon is a more inclusive Iraqi government. That we can assist as we did in taking back the Mosul Dam to do the kind of expulsion of ISIS.

The president is going to tell the leaders tonight that we need to work together to degrade and destroy ISIS. I think the American people, we saw today in the Washington Post, 71 percent of the American people are in support of air strikes. But we're going to have to engage all of our international allies to do even more. There may be the need for boots on the ground. Not U.S. boots on the ground. But there may be the need for some boots on the ground.

BOLDUAN: We've actually, our latest polling, a new poll out today, Congresswoman, says that 76 percent of those polled actually approve and support additional air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. That same number almost support additional air strikes in Syria against ISIS. Are you prepared to support that if the president presents that tomorrow night?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, we'll see what the president is presenting. So far the target has been in Iraq. We'll see. Syria is very complicated. Because we have the Assad government, which we're against. And we're against ISIS, as well. That is making Syria a safe haven. But also attacking the Assad government. It's a very complicated situation. Ultimately, we may need to do more in Syria and we're all anxiously awaiting.

But I think that the support for the president, for his deliberate approach, for the use of air strikes that of course, remember, help the Yazidis in the humanitarian crisis has really been working. And also, the leadership that he's been providing in bringing together the coalition, that's absolutely critical, including Turkey. We've got secretary Hagel there trying to get Turkey involved, and clearly, part of the strategy.

BOLDUAN: And Secretary Kerry is going to be heading to Jordan as well, and Saudi Arabia to talk to partners there. One more question about the meeting last night. How would you characterize this -- are you more or less concerned about the threat of ISIS, from what you've learned from the CIA director and the Director of National Intelligence last night?

SCHAKOWSKY: I think the feeling that we had is that there is a, a strategy. It's not a question of more concerned or less concerned. Everyone is concerned. I feel, I do feel more confident that the threat to the United States itself is not immediately critical. That's very important. But I think the strategy that was explained and that is ready to be implemented is one that, that members across the aisle felt confident in.

BOLDUAN: The president said over the weekend that when he presents his strategy, that he wants to have congressional buy-in. What does buy- in mean to you at this point? SCHAKOWSKY: Well, in the very few days that we have left here in

session, it doesn't necessarily mean a vote. But I think a clear indication that the Congress is in support as the American people are, as you said. Of the strategy. Of using air strikes and leading this coalition. And so we'll see. If the, if the president is going to ask for actual authorization or just a, a nod. That we are all in support and together.

BOLDUAN: If the president asks for an authorization, asks for a vote, will you support him?

SCHAKOWSKY: I absolutely would. And I think there would be overwhelming support for that. If he asked for money, I think that there will be support from the Congress to do that.

BOLDUAN: From you personally, Congresswoman?

SCHAKOWSKY: And I personally would be there.

BOLDUAN: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, it's always great to have you. Thank you so much.

SCHAKOWSKY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: U.S. officials think they've solved the mystery of James Foley's killer. What did it take to match a name to the covered face? And also this on Inside Politics, another look at former president Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on the same stage. It sure wasn't all politics, hear what the grandfatherly advice Bush had for Clinton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

And we are looking at breaking news this morning. The preliminary report is out on the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over the Ukraine in July. Investigators say evidence shows that the plane was struck by objects moving at high speed. This report says there is no indication that flight data recorders were tampered with in those critical days that the crash site was under the control of pro-Russian rebels. A final report on the crash is expected next year.

The European Union is officially slapping Russia with more sanctions because of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Those sanctions are set to take effect this week, they include financial limits on Russia's state-owned oil companies. In the meantime, the cease-fire between Ukraine's government and pro-Russian rebels is holding, but is far from perfect. Four Ukrainian soldiers reportedly have been killed, nearly 30 wounded in clashes since Friday when that cease-fire began.

Back here at home, the City Council in Ferguson, Missouri, announcing plans for a citizen review board to provide guidance for the police department. The city is also planning changes to its court system, which has been criticized as unfairly targeting low-income African- Americans. These changes come in response to last month's fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson. Brown's parents are holding a news conference today. They're expected to question why Wilson has not been arrested.

Congratulations out to Marin Cilic, he is the new U.S. Open men's champion. Cilic from Croatia, defeating Japan's Kei Nishikori straight sets to win his first Grand Slam tennis title. Boy, what a difference a year makes, you might recall Cilic was barred from last year's tournament because of a doping suspension.

I tuned in yesterday afternoon. I was in the group.

Yes, I'm a fair-weather tennis fan. It was fun. I loved watching.

BOLDUAN: Croatia on top.

CUOMO: I'm happy about that.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I feel bad for Roger -- for Federer and Nadal.

CUOMO: You evoke emotion.

PEREIRA: Do I?

CUOMO: You do. Even me. I only have like two of them.

PEREIRA: I know, you have two to access.

CUOMO: I just, I thought that this was going to be Roger's. I thought he was set up for it and I like to see greatness prove itself.

BOLDUAN: You felt like he had momentum.

PEREIRA: It was kind of neat -- nice to see two underdogs --

CUOMO: I'm with you on that. It's nice to see new faces.

BOLDUAN: As I like to say, because I never want him to retire, there's always next year.

CUOMO: That's true. I don't know about the whole Monday finals thing. You can get in line in social media with that.

PEREIRA: You don't like that?

CUOMO: You like that? The U.S. Open playing on Monday? Of course, they want to avoid football. I don't know. Just one topic for discussion today. However, we --

BOLDUAN: Also a topic on INSIDE POLITICS.

CUOMO: Thank you very much for that segue. There's a lot going on in politics, so let's get you Inside Politics on New Day with Mr. John King. Segyoo. JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": After the election, we'll have the focus group on how does Chris Cuomo's show sad, happy, with a range of emotions.

CUOMO: My face is the same with all emotions.

BOLDUAN: It doesn't move.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Can't do it until after the election, because we're kind of busy.

All right, let's get to the big challenges. And with me this morning to share their reporting and their insights, Julie Pace of the Associated Press, Ron Fournier of "National Journal".

Let's start with the president's big challenge. He will address the American people on Wednesday; he's going to brief the bipartisan leadership of Congress, laying out in more detail what he plans to do to respond to the ISIS threat. Now, we want to know of course what the military plan is, what the diplomatic plan is, but big Washington question is will the president ask Congress for authorization to do this or will he say I already have power?

Let's start the conversation by reminding people here's the president on Sunday talking to NBC's "Meet the Press," saying I want Congress to support me, but I don't necessarily need a vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm confident that I've got the authorization I need to protect the American people, and I'm always going to do what's necessary to protect the American people. But I do think it's important for Congress to understand what the plan is, to have buy-in, to debate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So help me. Why not just ask Congress, you know, for authority? So that not only does he have a buy-in, but he has a vote, where he can say look at this, I have the support of bipartisan, democratically-elected people?

JULIE PACE, ASSOCIATED PRESS: One word -- midterms. Congress doesn't really want to have a vote here. Congress wants to be read in on conversations, they want to know the intelligence, they want to be able to have a say, maybe even debate it, as the president said. But there are very few lawmakers who, a couple weeks before a mid-term election, want to have a vote on military action.

KING: You say that's the majority position in Congress. Although publicly you do have some Democrats and more Republicans, Ron, say we're going to put this legislation forward. We want to give the president the authority.