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New Day

State of Emergency Declared in Ferguson; 20th Hijacker: Saudi Royals Funded 9/11 Attacks; Four Israelis Dead After Jerusalem Terror Attack

Aired November 18, 2014 - 06:30   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: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY. I want to give you a look at your headlines right now.

We begin with breaking news from Jerusalem. A deadly attack on a synagogue killing four Israelis, wounding injuring six others. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemning those attacks and blaming Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and bowing to respond with a heavy hand. Police say two Palestinians broke into the synagogue armed with axes and knives. They were shot and killed by police.

We will find out in a few hours time if North Korean leader Kim Jong- Un could face prosecution for human rights abuses. A U.N. committee is set to vote later this morning now. If it passes, the general assembly will decide next month if North Korea will be referred to the International Criminal Court. North Korea would be the first non- African country to be referred to the ICC.

Word this morning that the doctor who died of Ebola after being flown from Sierra Leone endured a two-week delay in treatment. Officials say Dr. Martin Salia had waited three days in Sierra Leone to be formally diagnosed after an initial test came back negative, he waited five more days to be flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The 44-year-old succumbed to his illness on Monday.

Eighty-year-old convicted murderer Charles Manson and his 26-year-old fiancee have a marriage license. A source close to the couple says no wedding date has been set. The two have 90 days to tie the knot before that license expires. They'll be allowed up to 10 guests from outside the prison, an officiant of their choice and two additional guests from inside the prison.

Those are your headlines.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I am fascinated by that. I want to know what it is that about these young women, we see them in the jailhouse weddings, you know, from time to time.

PEREIRA: Time and time again we've seen it.

CAMEROTA: With murderers.

PEREIRA: With murderers and criminals in the past. CAMEROTA: Yes, I want to know what it is that attracts them to these

guys.

PEREIRA: And also what attracts a 26-year-old to an 80-year-old man.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Usually, it's cash. But that's not going to be the case in this. I don't think it is.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You know, look, you can Google this and there's been generations of daytime talk shows that have focused on this, and you almost always see that the psychology of it is never coming from a good place with these women.

PEREIRA: No.

CUOMO: Especially with this guy.

I mean, let's be fair, maybe can you find someone who had a bad thing in their life. And they're a decent person and then there's some romance there. But this bad boy thing which is personified by this guy --

PEREIRA: I know.

CAMEROTA: It's beyond.

PEREIRA: How about you tweet us, I feel like you might have an opinion on it.

CAMEROTA: Yes, good.

CUOMO: Especially, if you're her family, if you're related to her in any way, how do you feel about this?

Anyway, back to Ferguson. Preparations there -- are they part of the problem in what's going on? Here's why, peaceful protesters are furious that authorities have declared a state of emergency there. The government said they're just doing it to release resources, all of this because the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case could come down at any time. We're there waiting and we will take you there, if it happens.

CAMEROTA: And he's known as the 26th hijacker, now a convicted 9/11 terrorist is talking and his claims are shocking.

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CAMEROTA: There's a growing unease this morning in Ferguson, Missouri. Missouri's governor declaring a precautionary state of emergency as the embattled city and the country waits to find out if the grand jury will indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown.

The National Guard is at the ready and the FBI is warning of a chance for violence.

Let's bring in CNN's Stephanie Elam. She is live from a freezing Ferguson this morning.

Stephanie, what's the latest?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

This news that Governor Nixon has declared a state of emergency shows that we're just one step closer to getting the ruling on the fate of Darren Wilson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Protesters in St. Louis braved frigid temperatures, taking to the streets, ahead of Missouri's governor declaring a state of emergency.

Governor Jay Nixon anticipating expanded unrest if the grand jury decides not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed teen, Michael Brown, on August 9th.

Governor Nixon activating the National Guard to assist the county police with securing Ferguson, bypassing the Ferguson police department. The mayor of St. Louis agreed with the decision.

MAYOR FRANCIS SLAY, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: We don't know what's going to happen or when it's going to happen, or, you know, what the decision is going to be, or what the reaction is going to be. I think we need to make sure that we are prepared.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL BROWN'S FAMILY: Michael Brown's parents have asked that everybody who supports them do so in a nonviolent, peaceful constructive way.

ELAM: For more than three months now, this entire area has been on edge.

(on camera): Are you worried about violence becoming an issue again?

MAX PETERSON, DEMONSTRATOR: I'm not really. By civilians or by police?

ELAM: Whatever concerns you.

PETERSON: I mean, the biggest concern is that something very small will happen, like a water bottle and that will lead to teargas or gunfire.

ELAM (voice-over): Last week, a law enforcement source says the FBI issued a bulletin to police across the nation, warning officers to be vigilant about possible violence related to Ferguson.

Over the past few months, community leaders have complained that outsiders have instigated much of the violence.

(on camera): So when the grand jury comes out with its decision, what do you think is going to happen?

LARRY FELLOWS III, DEMONSTRATOR: I honestly can't say. I can just speak about what we're going to continue to do as protesters until we get what we deserve, which is justice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And the National Guard is expected to arrive here in the St. Louis area at some point this week, and as far as them taking over control of security. This would only happen if escalations and tensions and violence were to get out of control. But for now, the city of Ferguson is in control and the county of St. Louis is in control of their police departments, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, let's hope that it stays peaceful. Stephanie Elam, thanks so much.

Let's get to Chris.

CUOMO: Yes, as Stephanie is showing, by braving the colder weather, could also be an issue here.

As this reality when she asked, do you expect it to be violence, the kid on the street said by who, the cops or by the protesters? That's the two minds that are ruling in Ferguson right now.

So, let's get some perspective.

Chris King is the editorial director for the "St. Louis American", and Cincinnati chief of police, Jeffrey Blackwell.

Cincinnati dealt with a similar situation if 2001 and hopefully, it was a learning moment that those lessons will be put in place now.

Gentlemen, thank you for joining us.

Mr. King, let me start with you. What is the perception in community about what state of emergency means?

CHRIS KING, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, ST. LOUIS AMERICAN: Well, it's an unfortunately alarming term and a lot of the protesters do feel like it was a proactive strike in a kind of car. I don't think that's really the right way to look at it, Chris. Really, it enables the governor to start the call-up process for National Guardsmen.

National Guardsmen will never take over the protest. The -- your reporter was a little bit off on that. And also, the city of Ferguson is not in control of the city of Ferguson, St. Louis County is. St. Louis County police and St. Louis City police and Missouri Highway Patrol form a unified command.

The National Guard are going to be backliners, doing security detail. This is nonstarter for the community. The protesters should relax and continue protesting peacefully.

CUOMO: Well, that's always the hope. But you know what it is, it's about optics, Chief, right? The optics.

If you were to not call up these types of resources and have them on hand, would that be irresponsible? Do you believe that these tactics are something that helps make the situation more controllable, more safe?

JEFFREY BLACKWELL, CINCINNATI POLICE CHIEF: Well, I think you have to do it you're right, it is the optics and police are unfortunately in this scenario, in somewhat of a no-win situation. But it would be irresponsible to not be prepared to deal with the worst and hope for the best.

CUOMO: But you also have the issue, Chief, of what happened the last time, OK?

BLACKWELL: Right.

CUOMO: The cops in Ferguson, or whether they were surrounding St. Louis communities or whatever, a combination, they didn't seem ready to handle the situation and they did seem a little hair-trigger. They did seem a little hyper-aggressive, what do you think you learned in 2001 in Cincinnati that needs to be communicated? We do know there's been some training. But what are the lessons?

BLACKWELL: Well, I think the big lesson is you don't wait for a crisis moment to try to leverage a relationship that may or may not be built. You work on those sustained engaged, transparent relationships year-round.

And then you build up what I term as relationship collateral. People have to know in your community that your relationship with them is authentic. And the only way you do that is you're out there with them on a daily basis, trying to talk and figure out if everything in fact is OK.

Chief, that makes perfect sense. But it's also really frightening, because Chris, it seems like that's exactly what you don't have in Ferguson right now. The police and authorities have been slow to make inroads, because they want to see how this all settles first, but the chief is saying that's what you need to prevent the worst. What's your take?

KING: Well, Captain Ron Johnson has done a lot of hard work, meeting with protesters, they rebuff him a lot because he was in command on some of the worst nights of tear-gassing, that's a fact.

Chief Dotson in the city of St. Louis has also met with peaceful protesters. And he said to him, if you want peace, we want peace. So, if outside agitators come in that are going to disrupt the peace, work with us in turning them in.

Of course, it's difficult to get protest horse are protesting the police to cooperate with the police. But that might actually help defuse the situation if outside elements that truly the governor is afraid of outsiders, so is the unified command. If the peaceful protesters are local are the only people we see in the coming weeks, there won't be a national story.

CUOMO: Well, Chris, you clued us in to the outside agitators first time around. Because of your reporting and that of others, the police wound up making key arrests of outsiders and that helped certainly calm the situation down. But let me ask you, in the communities, are they discussing what to do to prevent violence and make the protests into the most product thing they can? Are they planning?

KING: Absolutely. Yes, absolutely.

I think there's been a lot of productive planning within protest movement. They brought in outside consultants and peaceful protests. Also, the King Center from Atlanta came up. And the unified command authorities realized that they don't have an angry mob on their hands in the peaceful protesters. They have actually factually peaceful protesters. There are some elements they need to guard against and I believe the guards are up.

CUOMO: You know, the hope for the media in a situation like this for all the cynicism aside is you're there to have eyes on the ground and it keeps everybody a little bit more aware of their behavior.

But, Chief, that then gets to you what the moment is going to be. The moment is going to be, when word of an indictment or no indictment comes down. We're hearing that may be released on a weekend. We don't know if they're going to bring the family in first.

In terms of timing and tactics, how should this decision be brought out?

BLACKWELL: Well, we in Cincinnati and in other places, you know the major city chiefs, we talk about this, we've talked about this for the last three months.

And certainly what affects us anywhere, affects us everywhere. So, we are a little nervous in my city. And I'm sure other chiefs are as well so we don't have the sympathetic reaction by our community. So for that we've been out in front of this and engaged in dialogue, and engaged with key people in our community, to try to figure out where we are, and if we're going to be OK, once this verdict is released.

CUOMO: Chris, do you think it's the right move to release it on a weekend? Do you think the Brown family should be brought in first before it's announced and allow them to use whatever leadership and authority they have with the community? To say what they hope happens, regardless of the outcome?

KING: Well, I think you need to talk about the reality of the county prosecutor, Robert McCullough, he's not good with victim services. He's been very poor with this particular family. He's not going to bring them in in a productive way.

But he is talking to police authorities and I'm talking to the same police authorities, they do want it on a weekend. The school districts want it on a weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw it this Sunday. CUOMO: Because the kids aren't if school and are insulated from

anything that happens. That's the main thinking, Chris, quickly?

KING: Yes, definitely.

CUOMO: All right.

Chris King, Chief Blackwell, thank you very much for your perspective. Hopefully preparation is the big headline here and that the protests come, no matter what the outcome is and there's something positive that comes out of this, because certainly the community need it.

Gentlemen, thanks.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris.

The so-called 20th hijacker is talking. Zacharias Moussaoui says Saudi royals helped finance the 9/11 attacks, even teaching him how to fly planes.

And that's not all he's saying. We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: They will call him the 20th hijacker. Now from his prison cell in Colorado, convicted 9/11 terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui is making claims that could be critical in a long-running civil case that implicates Saudi Arabia for the 9/11 attacks.

Let's get some more from Deb Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEB FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From his cell in a maximum security prison in Colorado, terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui is making new allegations and reviving old accusations against a handful of Saudi royals, accusations that over the last decade have been discredited.

In a four-page handwritten letter, the 46-year-old Frenchman claims Saudi embassy officials were involved in a plot to shoot down Air Force One to assassinate Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during a trip to the United Kingdom. He says he discussed the plot several months ago with a Secret Service agent. CNN has reached out to the agency for confirmation.

UNIDENTFIED MALE: This is a new plot that I think Moussaoui is making headlines with and he's certainly got everyone's attention. It's unclear how serious this plot was.

FEYERICK: There's the lingering question of Saudi Arabia. Moussaoui is reviving old claims he made a dozen years ago, that a specific Saudi prince and princess and others were involved in financing 9/11. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there was a significant effort in the

immediate aftermath of 9/11 to work with the Saudis, to curb their terror finance problem. I think it was widely recognized that it was a problem.

FEYERICK: In his letter, Moussaoui claims the same time he was taking flying lessons in Norman, Oklahoma, he met the prince and princess, who, quote, "gave me money," unquote, with other funds directed to the other 9/11 hijackers.

The Saudi government is being sued by some 9/11 families, and recent court papers field on the Saudi's behalf stress that the 9/11 Commission in 2004 found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded either al Qaeda or the hijackers. Zacarias Moussaoui is often depicted as the missing 20th hijacker. But shortly after a jury sentenced him to life in prison in 2006, 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden denied Moussauoi was part of plot and portrayed him as a paranoid schizophrenic, casting doubt on the credibility of his claims.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Joining us to delve further into this is CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes.

Good morning, Tom.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. Let's start with Moussaoui's claim that a Saudi prince and princess helped finance 9/11 by help paying for the flight lessons that the hijackers took. What do you make of this plan?

FUENTES: Well, as mentioned in Deborah Feyerick's piece, Moussaoui has been widely questioned as to his mental stability and what he knew and didn't know and how he knew it.

However, there are hundreds of Saudi princes, princesses, cousins, members of the royal family. So it's possible that members of the family did supply the money or provide funding for the 9/11 operation. But that doesn't mean the government itself knew about it or wanted it to happen.

CAMEROTA: There's also a new claim that he makes, which is that Air Force One, there was a Saudi plot to shoot down Air Force One and to assassinate Bill and Hillary Clinton. Is there any evidence of that?

FUENTES: I don't know of any evidence of that. So, I'm not sure that that ever is true or not.

CAMEROTA: So, you know the 9/11 commission found that in 2004, they said they found no evidence of Moussaoui's claims and they couldn't determine that the Saudis had financed or funded 9/11.

What do you think of the commission's findings? Is it possible they missed it?

FUENTES: It is possible. It's difficult to establish exactly where the funding came. The Saudi government does provide through a program it has, to provide money for schools around the world. Especially to appease the Wahhabi sect, a fundamentalist sect in Saudi Arabia, that questions the validity of the Saudi Arabian government, monarchy.

So, to appease them, starting in '91, they provided funding. This goes to madrassas in Pakistan and around the world, and we're quite familiar with that, and many of these institutions teach hate of the West and hate of the infidels.

So, in a way, the Saudi government does provide funding to schools that are anti-Western. It doesn't mean they're directly funding terrorism, because if they did, terrorism might be directed directly at them.

CAMEROTA: And, of course, let's not forget that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. But what do you think that Zacarias Moussaoui's motive is right now?

FUENTES: Well, I don't know. It could be attention, it could be anything. You know, I don't know his mental situation since he's been in prison all this time. So, good question.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you know, his court-appointed lawyers said that they believe that he was a paranoid schizophrenic.

FUENTES: Right.

CAMEROTA: So, it's hard to know whether we should dismiss this out of hand, because he's mentally unstable. Or if he has some real nuggets here that should be explored.

FUENTES: Well, it could be both. Part of the difficulty is and part of the court wrangling that's gone on since 9/11, is that the Saudi government is trying to use the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which prevents foreign governments from being dragged into U.S. court proceedings and the U.S. government has tried to back the Saudi government in that effort, because the U.S. and western governments need the cooperation of Saudi Arabia and particularly their intelligence service, the Mabahith, which is the partner of the FBI in Saudi Arabia, to cooperate.

And we've seen many cases where the Mabahith have disrupted terror plots, such as the printer cartridge plot, where al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula tried to ship a printer containing PETN to a Jewish community center in Chicago. The Saudi intelligence service directly interrupted that plot and that printer was discovered in London as a result of their cooperation.

CAMEROTA: Yes, that one was a good sign of cooperation.

Well. Tom Fuentes, thanks so much for your expertise. Always great to talk to you.

FUENTES: You're welcome, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. We are following a lot of news this morning. So, let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you saw today is slaughter of innocent people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We confirmed four Israelis have been killed in this terrorist attack.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: This has no place in human behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overnight, protesters in St. Louis taking to the streets amid a state of emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The entire region is gripped by fear. It's like they're preparing for war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our beloved son, Abdul-Rahman, no longer walks this Earth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our hearts are battered, but they will mend. The world is broken, but it will be healed in the end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Alisyn Camerota, alongside Chris Cuomo.

We could be on the verge of another major conflict in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to respond with a, quote, "heavy hand" to a deadly attack on Jerusalem synagogue, at least four Israelis were killed and six others were wounded.

CUOMO: Two Palestinians reportedly broke into the synagogue during prayers with axes, and knives and a handgun. They were shot dead by police, but not before victimizing worshippers.

The atrocity is being condemned around the world with the visible very exception of Hamas.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is live for us in Jerusalem -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Chris.

Hamas has put out a statement, they say supporting the operation, not claiming responsibility. They have course call these operations, these attacks. But there's no indication at this point, however, that Hamas is involved in this attack which left four Israelis dead this morning at about 7:00 local time.

We're being told by Israeli officials, that it seems it may be another one of these lone wolf attacks, attacks undertaken by residents of predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem. In this case, two cousins in their 20s who -- apparently, one of them worked not far from the synagogue, who were behind this attack.

And, of course, this is really just the latest in a long series of incidents in Jerusalem, going back to essentially June, when we saw clashes in the wake of the killing of those three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and the kidnapping and murder of a Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem.

So, these tensions have really been going on constantly since then. But certainly, this is the worst attack in Jerusalem since 2008 -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Ben, thank you very much.

Alisyn, over to you.

CAMEROTA: OK. Thanks, Chris.

Let's turn to Peter Beinart. He's a CNN political commentator, a contributing editor at "Atlantic Media", and a senior columnist at "Haaretz."