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Capitol Hill Reacts To President's Plan; Poll: Growing Public Fear Over Terror Threat; Remembering The September 11th Attacks

Aired September 11, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A South African judge says Oscar Pistorius cannot be found guilty in the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, the judge said the state failed to prove that the fatal shooting of Steenkamp was intentional or premeditated. the so- called blade runner faces other charges, including culpable homicide. The judge is expected to consider that charge next.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller will conduct an independent investigation into the NFL's handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case. Commissioner Roger Goodell says he'll have full access to NFL records and personnel.

This announcement came after the "Associated Press" reported a law enforcement official sent a copy of the Rice elevator video to an NFL executive back in April. Goodell said they never saw the tape of Rice knocking out his then-fiancee until it was released on Monday.

Police in Missouri arresting dozens of protesters and thwarting a plan of the highway shutdown Wedneday following the shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown.

Also exclusive compelling video and new witnesses to the shooting are now coming forward. The cell phone video shows two contractors near the scene screaming that Brown had his hands in the air when he was gunned down.

Still remarkable that there are still witnesses coming forward. These men didn't want to be identified. They were from outside the area, didn't have any connection to the family. Randi Kaye brought us the video, very compelling moments there.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And very important because it's a very public dialogue that's going on. People need information that will --

PEREIRA: A lot of emotion, right.

CUOMO: A lot of politics this morning as well. So let's take you "Inside Politics" on NEW DAY from Mr. John King.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Chris, Kate, Michaela, good morning to you. We'll pick up where you guys just left off before those news headlines with the reaction to the president's big speech last night. With me this morning to go inside politics and share their reporting and insights, Nia-Malika Henderson of the "Washington Post" and CNN's Peter Hamby. We just listened to Marco Rubio before the break. I thought for a Republican, a conservative, a fierce critic of the president in recent months, he's very measured.

He thinks the president is late to the fight, underestimated ISIS for a long time. But he was complementing the president saying I'm glad he's now prepared to go into Syria. I'm glad he now has laid it out as a serious threat.

His one concern is what a lot of Republicans are saying, he doesn't think the president should take off the table, even though they don't think he should use it now, the option of possibly boots on the ground.

John Boehner, the House speaker, said he has finally begun to make the case the nation has needed him to make for quite some time. That destroying this terrorist threat requires decisive action and must be of the highest priority for the United States and other nations in the free world.

Here's the part where Republicans add their skepticism. A speech is not the same thing as a strategy, however. But you would have to say, yes, there are some critics out there and there's politics at play. There is a moment for the president here. There's broad bipartisan support for what he's trying to do.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, "THE WASHINGTON POST": That's right and that seems to also be backed up by polls of Americans who seem to also say that this is what, this is what should happen, that there should be some expanded efforts not only in Iraq but also in Syria.

So I think the president did his case some good. Yesterday, I think one of the points that we'll see over the next couple of days is how Democrats come out, how Republicans come out, whether or not there will be a vote. There doesn't seem to be much appetite for a vote, even though you have folks coming out and saying they should take a vote.

KING: That's the interesting part on the full authorization. Congress has to vote to let him have the Defense Department arm and train the Syrian rebels, the moderate Syrian opposition. Will be a broad vote like the Iraq war, like the operation in Afghanistan, to authorize any use of military force.

Right now Marco Rubio said we should do that Harry Reid says he's going to wait to see what the House does. It takes the House a long time to do everything. Because of the Tea Party tug of war within the conference. Is that part of the cop-out, the bipartisan cop-out for those who don't want to take a full vote?

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: There is an election just two months from now.

HENDERSON: Is there? HAMBY: Yes, look, there's only a narrow window to get this done. Congress goes on vacation again in a couple of weeks.

KING: You mean home to their districts to talk about constituents.

HAMBY: Of course, there's going to be lots of town halls where they engage with the electorate, one thing Rubio said is he doesn't think the president needs full authorization.

Because Rubio and McCain and Lindsay Graham have been saying for weeks now, that the president needs to just go ahead and be more aggressive, which is interesting coming from Republicans that they're willing to say, the president should go.

Republicans have been critical of the president for executive overreach. But they're willing to say, he should have a green light to be more aggressive here.

KING: When this comes to commander-in-chief, they're saying he does have that authority. This is the morning of September 11th. I was at the White House on that tragic day. We all reflect on where we were, our memories, 13 years later. Let's look at the mood of the country.

Because terrorism is again front and center. Acts of terrorism around September 11th, do you think they're likely? Look at the difference here, 53 percent today say they think it is likely around this anniversary. Not likely, 46 percent.

The key thing is it's up from 2011. In this political climate, may be crass for some to discuss politics on this day. But we are less than eight weeks from an election. Are you worried that someone in your family will be a victim of terrorism, women have a higher concern than men do on that question.

We were talking about we came on the air about in 2004, when George W. Bush narrowly won re-election over John Kerry, the gender gap was not as big between Democrats and Republicans had some had anticipated, they labelled this group security moms. Do we see that playing out in the mid-terms New Hampshire comes to mind. Scott Brown comes to mind.

HENDERSON: We already knew how important women were going to be to this election. I reached out to a pollster and I asked her what is the most important demographic of this election cycle. And she said older white non-college educated women.

They're swing voters and they decide late. And obviously I think everyone knows that this group is somebody they should target. And that poll reflects that they have concerns, not only about terrorism, but also the economy, also social security, Medicare, things like that.

So a very important demographic group and you imagine this these folks who are running in these very contested races have those folks in mind.

HAMBY: Some of these number play into President Obama's eroding approval of handling terrorism. Since June has taken a significant hit and terrorism has crept up the list as now the second most important problem facing the country.

KING: Worries of the economy are going down, worries about terrorism are coming up and again some will think it's crass to talk about it on this day, but Republicans think it might benefit them in the political environment.

Let's talk about Democrats in this environment. Because you have a number of vulnerable Democrats, one is Senator Mark Udall, a Democrat of Colorado, he was one of the few Democrats upset the president won't take executive action on immigration.

Because he thinks Latino voters in Colorado could help him. Listen to this statement last night after the president's speech from Mark Udall. I believe any expanded U.S. military role beyond air strikes in the fight against ISIL in Iraq, must be approved by Congress.

The American people must be assured that we are not pursuing another open-ended conflict in the Middle East and I will not give this president or any president a blank check to begin another land war in Iraq.

An interesting statement, except the president has said repeatedly, that he's, the Democratic, that's a Democratic senator, essentially getting in the face of a Democratic president, who has said he's not going to put boots on the ground.

HAMBY: Mark Udall has been trying so hard to run away from the president on so many things. He's national security. The other day in a debate he said I am the senator that the White House fears most. When they see me marching across the White House lawn. That is -- hilariously wrong. Not true.

KING: Poppycock is the technical term.

HAMBY: Mark Udall protest too much --

HENDERSON: He criticize the president on immigration reform, wanted him to go forward with the executive action, but you do see Democrats looking for distance from this president on this issue. You had beg itch saying he doesn't think that they should arm the Syrian rebels so this is an opportunity that the Democrats are very much taken with.

KING: That's one of the reasons the White House does not want to vote because of the unpredictable political environment. They don't want to full vote on authorization because they are afraid they could lose and some Democrats they could also could hurt them in the election.

Let's close with this remarkable moment. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, he is one of the president's biggest critics. He was critical of the speech last night, but he went to speak to another event where would you think he would be welcomed. Ted Cruz was speaking to a group of Christians here in Washington.

The Religious Broadcasting Network's, EWTN recorded this film, look at the image. Cruz is telling Christians they need to stand with Israel and the Jewish state as it deals with terrorism and violence in its neighborhood. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I will say this -- just because you say -- if you will not stand with Israel and the Jews --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

CRUZ: Then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Booed off the stage, saying if they wouldn't stand with him, he wouldn't stand with them. It's an interesting moment. The organization saying with just a few rabble rousers in the crowd. If he's going to run for president, he's going to have to get used to that.

HAMBY: But I mean, from a political perspective in the context of the Republican Party, he got some good clips out of this, I mean, the conservative free beacon. Pro-Israel wrote up a long piece about this. He's drawing a line. He's saying I'm pro-Israel, you're either with us or against us. For national security hawks, that's, that's a good little comment.

KING: We'll keep an eye on that one going forward. A little bit of fun in town last night. Nia-Malika Henderson, Peter Hamby, thanks for coming in.

Mr. Cuomo, back to you in New York, I just want to reiterate, we hope that 13 years later things are a little different. But you see the rising concerns about terrorism.

I'll say this, I remember on that morning, the uniformed Secret Service rushing out to surround the White House, everyone else was being evacuated. Let's never forget, the first responders, the police, the firefighters who were such heroes on that horrible, horrible morning.

CUOMO: Well said, my friend, well said. There's plenty of pain to go around. Still, 13 years after the September 11th attacks, as John pointed out. Here we are once again, the threat of another attack, where are we on that? How safe are we right now? We'll ask Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson. Stay with us.

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BOLDUAN: Today the nation and the world remember the September 11th terror attacks and 13 years now later, Americans are still facing the threat of terror. So real today.

Let's bring in Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to discuss. He's at the September 11th Memorial right here in New York. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us this morning. JEH JOHNSON, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Good morning.

BOLDUAN: Good morning. On this 13th anniversary, you're standing at a site I visited recently, and it is very moving, very emotional and brings up a lot of memories for a lot of people. I want to get, what is your message to the American public this morning on the state of security now 13 years after the 9/11 attacks?

JOHNSON: I, too, am impressed to be here. I'm a New Yorker. I was present here in Manhattan on September 11th, 2001. And so I have a real commitment to the mission of homeland security. And I've been here a number of times, including just a day or two after the attack.

I was in Lower Manhattan here myself. And I've returned here a number of times, I've been to the museum. And I think it's important that on 9/11 each year, we commemorate those who lost their lives, those who courageously gave their lives here in New York and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and in Washington.

And remember the importance of not letting our guard down when it comes to homeland security. Because we know from 9/11, that our homeland security can be shattered in an instant.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And you talk about not letting our guard down. I want to get your take on one of, recent CNN/ORC poll that came out. It looked a lot at the most recent threat of ISIS, and the threat to the United States.

One part of this poll, Mr. Secretary, said that 71 percent of Americans believe that ISIS currently has terrorists inside the United States. What do you say to that?

JOHNSON: The president, I think, spoke very forcefully about our determination to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. We are in discussions right now, and we're part of an international coalition that is being assembled to take the fight to ISIL.

It is in fact a dangerous organization, they have thousands of fighters overseas, they've acquired territory, and they've demonstrated a willingness in a very cruel and public manner, to kill Americans, because they are Americans.

So we're determined to take the military fight and use all the resources of the United States government to deal with this terrorist organization. In homeland security, there are a number of facets in which we do our job.

There's our counterterrorism mission, which includes dealing with countering violent extremism here in the homeland. We're worried about the so-called independent actor, lone wolf who may become inspired through social media, through reading literature, to commit acts of violence.

We've got a taste of that last year in the Boston marathon. I was in Boston earlier this year, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of that attack. And so in my department, the Department of Homeland Security, we have a number of efforts to try to deal with the domestic base potential threat.

But our principal concern and our focus right now is ISIL overseas in Iraq and Syria. And we're determined to take the fight to that very dangerous criminal organization.

BOLDUAN: Mr. Secretary, especially on 9/11, everyone always wonders about the safety and security of the homeland. What you just said, I do wonder is one more threatening in terms of homeland security than the other? Is ISIS more of a threat to the United States at this moment or is that concern over the lone wolf? What we saw in Boston, more of a threat at this moment, do you believe? How do you gauge that?

JOHNSON: I think it's critical that we not take our eye off of any one potential terrorist threat. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, for example, is still out there. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has itself shown and demonstrated a willingness to attempt to attack our homeland.

And so in homeland security and national security, we monitor all of these threats and it's important that we not take our eye off of any one of them. So I hesitate to rank one over the other. I think it's our mission and it's our priority to keep our eye on all of these threats.

And so I look at the cross-section of them all. For example, we recently ramped up aviation security in last point of departure airports overseas that have direct flights to the United States, looking at the total range of potential threats to the homeland and to aviation security.

And so ISIL right now is the most prominent terrorist organization on the world stage. But we're keeping an eye on all of them.

BOLDUAN: I want to end, if we can, where we began this discussion, Mr. Secretary, on this day, 9/11 is significant to every American of course. But this is the first time as secretary you are at, you are going to be taking part in the 9/11 memorial services. How does the fact that you are now taking on, you're now in this position, in this role, how does it change that for you?

JOHNSON: Well, this day, and being here in Lower Manhattan, resonates with me in a very personal way. I knew people who were killed on September 11th, 2001. I consider New York City my home. I'm very familiar with this city.

Just here today I'm seeing old friends and colleagues like former Mayor Giuliani, who hired me to be an assistant United States attorney 26 years ago. So I wanted to be here on behalf of the men and women of my department, the Department of Homeland Security, to demonstrate our continued commitment to protecting the homeland.

BOLDUAN: What a difficult task that is and how important it is, driven home more on this anniversary than ever before with the president's speech last night outlining the strategy and the threat faced by ISIS. Secretary Jeh Johnson, Mr. Secretary, thank you for taking time this morning on this very important day.

JOHNSON: Thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. President Obama authorizing air strikes in Syria to wipe out ISIS as we were discussing with the secretary. We're now going to talk with Senator John McCain. He's been highly critical of the president's Syria strategy in the past. We're going to talk about what he thinks today.

Plus, we'll ask about the fiery exchange that he had with Jay Carney, the president's former spokesman right here on CNN.

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CUOMO: Welcome back, bad weather is on the move, so let get to meteorologist, Indra Petersons, who is keeping track of it for us. What do you see, my friend?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, yesterday, we have reports of even tornadoes out towards the Ohio. That same system now making its way to the northeast, but look, there are two of them, guys and the second one, even colder than the first, actually bringing snow toward Montana today.

So keep that in mind, two shots of reinforcing cool air. We are going to get a break on Friday in the northeast, but already that second storm making its way to the Midwest, so by Saturday, showers in the northeast down to the southeast from that second system kind of making its way through.

Here's the rainbow, right, look at this temperature clash, we are talking about currently, 30s in Bismarck, 73 in Memphis, this is the change we are going to be talking about it. Notice a 20-degree drop already today for St. Louis, all that cold air filtering in.

Even that roller coaster going to the northeast by the weekend. So definitely going to feel a little bit of a bite in the air, 60, 70, not that big of a bite. Point out, maybe you heard about this, a solar flare, a huge solar flare from the center of the sun yesterday.

It's going to take some time to make its way to earth, but keep in mind, this one is actually a very strong one. We are talking about a Level G3 geomagnetic storm. What is that? Talking about minor disruption to power systems, guys, intermittent satellite navigation, radio navigation problems.

Radios, we're going to have communication problem there. But here is the plus side, we will be seen lower, in Pennsylvania, may actually see the aurora, which I have yet to see.

BOLDUAN: I'm stuck on the G3 or whatever that was.

PETERSONS: Yes, it's a big word.

BOLDUAN: Whatever.

CUOMO: Actually not a word at all. I didn't know any of that.

BOLDUAN: I didn't either.

PEREIRA: That's why she is here.

CUOMO: Science.

BOLDUAN: Exactly right. President Obama says air strikes in Syria are now on the table to fight ISIS. We are going to talk with Republican Senator John McCain. He has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration's Syria policy, have much more on that.

CUOMO: And it is not over for the NFL. They, themselves, are launching a new investigation into the Ray Rice case with a former FBI director taking the lead. Why? Well, partly after new report alleges the NFL knew more than it let on. Ahead.

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