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New Day

NFL Investigation into Ray Rice Case; Remembering 9/11 Attacks; Oscar Pistorius Cleared of Murder

Aired September 11, 2014 - 08:30   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: The NFL is launching a new investigation into the Ray Rice case amid a damning new report. Former FBI Director Robert Muller is going to look into how the league handled the Rice case after the Associated Press reported that a law enforcement official claims he sent the video of Rice hitting his future wife in an elevator to an NFL executive back in April. But earlier in the week, Commissioner Goodell said no one at the NFL had seen the video.

And joining us this morning is Jemele Hell - Hill - Jemele, I gave you a double last name - co-host of "Numbers Never Lie" on ESPN2. One of my favorite sports people of all time.

I'm so glad to have you here. You have been very vocal, Jamil, very vocal about this and I know you're getting some heat on Twitter. That doesn't matter. You're here now. We can talk about it. Talk to me about the investigation. We know Robert Muller's on board. He'll be leading this. Is this significant to you? Is it enough or is it too little too late?

JEMELE HILL, CO-HOST, "NUMBERS NEVER LIE," ESPN2: This is extremely significant. If you look at the history of the NFL, they've never ousted a commissioner before. And he's considered the most powerful commissioner in all of sports. And I think yesterday there was a certain willingness to believe that this was just a matter of gross ignorance as opposed to malice or willful neglect. Well, now that we know and have learned that the NFL office received this videotape, the question now becomes, can we believe Roger Goodell and take him at his word that he hasn't seen this tape? And even if he was telling the truth, at what point are we willing to accept ignorance as a defense. He's certainly made it clear in investigations that he spearheaded that ignorance is indeed not a - not an excuse at all. Just ask the New Orleans Saints.

PEREIRA: Can - well, that's a very good point I want to get to in a second. Can Goodell survive this? And if he doesn't, what's to say that the next person here is going to clean up a bigger problem that is apparent within the NFL?

HILL: You know, had you asked me this yesterday at the same time I would have said, absolutely Roger Goodell survives this. Would it be a lasting negative mark on his legacy? Of course. But what you have to watch is not only the outcome of this particular investigation, but when certain groups begin to get involved, certain special interest groups begin to get involved and start taking a more scrutinized look at what you're doing - and I'm referring to the National Organization for Women - when they become involved, a group that powerful, that's when you really have to worry because the NFL advertises they're watching very closely to see how this plays out. And as we saw with Donald Sterling, when the money begins to get pulled out of a particular league, that's when other owners who employ Roger Goodell, they're going to feel more compelled to act right now. They have his support or he has their support. But we'll see if that support is maintained as this investigation, as we see what comes out of it.

PEREIRA: It's interesting you mention about that - the Saints. You mention that bounty scandal. There wasn't concrete evidence there. There is here. The video is as concrete as it gets. Does this then call into question every other decision that this commissioner makes?

HILL: Well, there is a certain aspect of this that feels like, you know, people are saying ding-dong, the witch is dead, as in Roger Goodell. You have players tweeting about how they seem to be very pleased that the commissioner's in the crosshairs. His entire time as NFL commissioner, he has been questioned about the inconsistency in which they feel he metes out player punishment. And now you have a situation where he's the one that's under fire, he's the one who may potentially lose his job and there seems to be - I wouldn't call it overwhelming, I wouldn't say majority, but there's definitely a ground swell of players and people who feel like this is something he deserves given how he's run his investigations in the past.

PEREIRA: As for the league itself, do you think this an - well, we know it's an opportunity the NFL can clean things up. Do you think they will? You -- I saw the numbers you put out yesterday talking about 56 players in the league under Goodell's leadership have been accused of domestic violence and only missed 13 games. It's apparent. What will they do?

HILL: Well, he did put forth, before the emergence of this video, what I thought to be some very strong policies against domestic violence. Just given the context of what we see other leagues do, these were probably the strongest that were on paper. But now I think even in -- not even in hindsight, if you will, but as this thing has evolved, I think that there is less confidence that those policies can be really executed in the manner that shows that the league takes this kind of thing seriously. A question that has to be asked is, what will the NFL do if it's not videotaped -

PEREIRA: Good point.

HILL: Because it seemed to be a very clear kind of -- a very wide gap between reading it and seeing it and I just go back to some comments I read from the Baltimore president, David Cass. It was unbelievable to me that he said, well, we knew that he knocked her unconscious but it was different when we saw it. Why?

PEREIRA: Jemele, we know the Ravens play tonight. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, they will do, if anything will be done to acknowledge this, if there will be any sort of movement, an ad in support of further domestic violence awareness programs. Who knows. We'll be watching though and I know you will be too. Thank you so much for joining us and bringing your inside and wisdom to this, OK, Jemele?

HILL: Thank you. Always a pleasure.

PEREIRA: Today, a significant day. A moment of silence from Ground Zero on this 9/11. We're going to bring it to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You are looking at the site of a moment that we are all remembering. Today is September 11th, of course, commemorating the horrible attacks that took place on that day in New York City, of course, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in Washington, D.C. And we are going to observe the moment of silence that will happen at all those different areas this morning. You're watch one of the many different aspects of first responders who were there. We have Poppy Harlow in position now to tell us what it is like as we get ready to commemorate yet another marking of 9/11.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Chris.

It's hard for all of us to imagine it has been 13 years but, you know, this day is not about those that attacked this city, it is about remembering all of those innocent lives that were lost. A lot of the families are down there today doing just that. We just spoke with a girl who was four when her father died. She's 17 now. She comes every year, says it helps her reconnect with her father. The Aldermans (ph), another family who lost their 25-year-old son, Peter, told me they don't come but it's important for them to hear his name read. He would have been 38 years old. Those are just two of the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost.

This city, of course, is mourning. But again, we are also a symbol of rebuilding. Behind me, One World Trade Center is going to open later this year. And for the first time also, Chris, we do know that the plaza, this beautiful memorial, is going to be open tonight for the first time on 9/11 at 6:00 p.m. for people to come, to remember, to mourn. And this morning, the families were allowed inside the 9/11 Museum, which just recently opened. They were allowed in there early, 7:30 a.m. this morning, so that they could mourn in their own way, Chris. But a day for remembering all of those lives lost here certainly in New York today.

CUOMO: Absolutely, Poppy. And the president's getting ready to come out now to begin the moment of silence. As soon as it's time, we will obviously observe it.

And for all the drama that surrounded the making of the memorial and everything that happened, that has to be left behind on a day like today. Let's listen in to some of the singing as we get ready for the moment.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SINGING) (MOMENT OF SILENCE)

(MUSIC)

CUOMO: So, you see there the president, the first lady and the vice president now moving back into the White House. You see the flag.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All the members of the White House staff there with them as well.

CUOMO: Right, everybody there, one big family today. The two other screens, obviously, the Pentagon and Ground Zero, where now they will begin calling out the over 3,000 names of those who lost their lives on 9/11. And obviously thoughts and prayers are with the families and those who are affected, that hopefully, they found some peace. And the timing could not be more poignant that now, 13 years later, on 9/11, we are facing the threat, the same threat that caused the attacks of that day. We are once again preparing to do battle against it.

BOLDUAN: Going to take a break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: We are following breaking news this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): Oscar Pistorius cleared of murder in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The blade runner faces other charges, however, that could still lead to a long prison term.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): Let's bring in CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps. She's down there, outside the courtroom in Pretoria, South Africa. So, take us through, Kelly. What has the judge said so far?

KELLY PHELPS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, as you've correctly stated, she has completely dispensed with the murder charge on any of the varieties put forward by the state. So, not only has she rejected premeditated murder, all murder in the heat of the moment, but she has also rejected what we call constructive murder or legal murder, that he fulfills the definition of the law of murder regardless whether he thought it was her or not.

That is all being dispensed, but she found there was no evidence supporting those claims. And she was just at the end of court today deciding on the culpable homicide charge, that which is negligent killing as opposed to intentional killing. Although she didn't say in so many words you are guilty of culpable homicide, she did apply the legal test for culpable homicide and found that he failed that test.

So, in other words, at this point, it is a legal impossibility that Pistorius could be acquitted of culpable homicide. He will certainly be convicted of culpable homicide, the negligent killing of Reeva Steenkamp. CUOMO: Alright, and in U.S. vocabulary, that sounds a lot like

manslaughter, which can still carry a very healthy prison sentence because it punishes behavior that was so negligent, or reckless, that it attributed and caused the death of another. What kind of penalty could be involved?

PHELPS: That's correct. In terms of sentencing, that's discretionary sentencing. Its not covered by the mandatory minimum sentencing act. The judge is allowed to apply as heavy a sentence as, for example, 15 years all the way down to a complete suspended sentence and no prison time. She will consult with other cases of culpable homicide in order to determine where she thinks on the spectrum of severity this case correctly falls.

CUOMO: So, give me two other things. One, the reaction of the courtroom there and those following this to him not getting hooked on a more serious murder charge. And when the judge is all done with the other charges and she actually gets to this manslaughter charge, what do you think the outcome will be in terms of time?

PHELPS: Well, in terms of people's response here time in the courtroom, they've seen quite a (inaudible) response in a certain respect, simply because the day's proceedings have been very weighty, very substantive in terms of her analysis and a very long reading out of her judgment and her reasoning.

So I think people will almost a bit overwhelmed, just keeping up and following on as she was reading out. But she certainly did give a very carefully considered analysis before she reached that verdict on murder. I don't think anyone was particularly outraged or shocked when it came to the moment that she dispensed with that charge.

In terms of culpable homicide, really, there's only one option, which is guilty at this point, because of the manner in which she has applied the test for negligence. So we do expect him to be convicted and the sentencing will then depend on a sentencing hearing, where both sides will get the opportunity to argue in front of the judge why they think this should be a more lenient or more severe sentence attached to him.

CUOMO: So the question will be going forward, is Oscar Pistorius' life as an athlete over, because will he be spending that time in prison? We still have to wait and see, but big news here. Kelly Phelps, thank you very much.

So, President Obama, the big news this morning. He is laying out his plan to take on ISIS. As we remember today is, of course, September 11 and we are still dealing with the same threat 13 years later. A lot to cover for you. We will have much more on the "NEWSROOM" in just moments.