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DHS Shutdown Showdown; Truck Driver Arrested After Train Crash; Guilty Verdict in "American Sniper" Trial

Aired February 25, 2015 - 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: Breaking overnight: guilty of capital murder, that's the verdict in the so-called "American Sniper" trial. A Texas jury rejecting defense claims that Eddie Ray Routh was insane, taking just two and a half hours to convict him for the shooting death of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield. The judge quickly sentencing Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS terrorists Christian villages in northeastern Syria, abducting as many as 150 Syrian Christians in predawn raids. The terror group is expected to release a message today, threatening to kill them. It is the latest attack on a minority group as the group continues its bloody campaign to create a caliphate across Syria and Iraq.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel face as surprise runoff, after failing to get more than 50 percent of the votes. It's a political blow for the former top aide to President Obama who raised more funds than his four rivals combined. He will go against Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia. This is the first time that a Chicago mayor has been forced into a runoff.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department will not file federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Its independent investigation finding insufficient evidence Attorney General Eric Holder says it did not meet the high standards for a federal hate crime prosecution. Trayvon Martin's parents released a statement saying they are disappointed. However, they thanked the Justice Department for its thorough investigation. According to the A.P., Benjamin Crump, the parents' attorney, called the decision a "bitter pill" to swallow.

CAMEROTA: That is the end to a sad chapter in this whole episode.

CUOMO: Do you think they set up false expectations when they have a federal investigation in a case that didn't even pass a criminal threshold. The federal was higher, you have to prove not only did he kill him on purpose, but he did it on purpose because of his race.

PEREIRA: You're good at reminding us of that. That the threshold is much higher, it's a good question. I think there was hope from the people that were concerned that Trayvon Martin's death would go without justice, absolutely.

CUOMO: All right. So, more problems for the V.A. The new secretary is under fire for falsely claiming he served in the Army Special Forces while talking to a homeless vet. Robert McDonald publicly apologized, called it a mistakes and a misstatement. But has he lost the trust of the veterans he serves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MCDONALD, VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: What I was trying to do is find a way to connect with that veteran. As I said, I made a misstatement, I apologized for that I have no excuse for it. But if you look at my 61 years of biography, you'll never find anywhere in any of my biographies that I claimed to be part of Special Forces, I never claimed that. It was a misstatement, it was a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald apologizing for embellishing his military record.

So, what should happen next?

Let's bring in CNN political analyst, and editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," John Avlon and CNN political commentator and Republican consultant, Margaret Hoover.

If those are really your credentials both of you, I'm now skeptical, because we must question everyone's credentials and experience now, apparently.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Robert McDonald, how bad is this?

AVLON: You know, this is bad because it's embarrassing, but I think the secretary is being credible when he said it's essentially a lie of empathy in the moment. This wasn't a resume lie that he'd falsify over a long period of time, but it happens at a time when the V.A. credibility and leadership has been so battered and bruised, that makes this doubly bad. I don't think this quite rises to a firing offense, however.

CAMEROTA: Margaret?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I agree. You know, it also happens at a time when you have fish stories from newscasters who are supposed to be credible people telling us they had robust military experiences they actually didn't have. So, I think it's sort of fits within that news cycle.

But I agree, I don't think he will lose his job over it. And frankly, the offenses of the V.A. and what they've done to veterans by failing to take care of them are far worse than a small fish story. AVLON: Yes, that I think is important, as we gauge scandals sometimes

we get distracted by the personal, particularly sex scandals and we ignore financial scandals, scandals where millions of dollars can be stolen or millions of people can be hurt. So, I think we needed to keep our moral --

CUOMO: The gotcha game is very difficult for the media to lay off. I think what is fascinating for the audience here is lies are not all the same. That's what we're seeing again. Brian Williams, if that's a lie you believe, he's one type of guy. You know, Bill O'Reilly, is that a lie? Well, he's a different kind of guy. And this guy is a government official, is that different? The relativity I think is fascinating.

AVLON: It's troubling, too, because if you try to hold yourself to a higher standard, all of a sudden, you've got further to fall, whereas if you say look, I've never pretended to be an honest person. People are like hey man, fine, roll with it.

But I do think there's something to that that gets troubling, also the human nature of fish stories whether you're a war correspondent or otherwise, in off moments, the fish never gets smaller, it gets bigger.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, let's talk about the news of the day, down where you are on Capitol Hill, DHS, funding is this going to happen somehow in the next two days?

HOOVER: Look, I think what you've seen with the Republicans in the Senate is that they understand that if the government shuts down, it's going to reflect badly on them. Even if it was the Democrats who didn't want to bring this to, even a conversation to make it into a bill that they could deal with. Republicans are going to get blamed. I think Mitch McConnell's change in tactics is a revelation, it represents that acknowledgement. I don't see a clear path here.

I got to tell you, Alison, I see a path through the Senate that may be able to get through and honestly, it's at this point about the Senate Republicans coming out looking like they can be constructive and pass bills, because I don't see a path through the House at the moment. I have no idea how Boehner is going to do it. He's going to have to bring Democrats to the table I don't know if he's strong enough to do it.

AVLON: Every time, though, every time, Margaret, we've seen this Boehner be able to pull something out of the fire, it's because he's ditched the Hastert Rule and found bipartisan coalitions, when it's crunch time, when we're facing the cliff, that's what gets it done, because he can't depend on the 40 or so members of the crazy caucus.

McConnell is trying to get -- create an exit ramp. He's trying to be a statesman and follow through on his promise. But this is a problem with the game of chicken, you get so close to the cliff. Even if you want to turn away sometimes, you can't.

CUOMO: That's the problem, right? Is that they've got themselves into a pattern. You look at this in Keystone, obviously different, but in a very real way, the same.

Jim Acosta was saying this morning, you know, in the old days, they used to veto and they would have these, the veto fight. What would happen now? They don't even pass any legislation, so you never get to a veto. That's why veto is so unusual.

They're playing a game of less is more and it's playing out on both of these fronts, isn't it?

AVLON: I also got to say. I think Democrats are playing a bit of a dangerous game if they're not helping keep the government open. If they think somehow they've got a political win and a shutdown, so they're going to subtly encourage it or actively encourage it.

CUOMO: It didn't work so good for the Republicans the last time around.

AVLON: It did work bad for them.

CUOMO: Midterms.

AVLON: Not in terms of the ultimate political cost in terms of the election, but in terms of just consistently reducing faith in an already-broken institution. And there's a cost to that.

Right now, Republicans are going to get hurt disproportionately. But if Democrats really weigh in, they're not going to walk away from this clean and they need to understand that.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, let's talk about the Keystone pipeline, President Obama has vetoed it. Does that mean it's over, it's dead or there's more than the Republicans can do?

HOOVER; Well, I think as an issue, Republicans will likely continue to add it on to bills as it goes on. Sort of like a Christmas tree ornament. They'll just sort of keep adding it on to legislation as amendments, moving on to the future because it's a good legislative tactic, it plays well, it's popular.

But the truth is, for too long, I think, this has replaced or supplanted having any real agenda on the Republican side. I mean, Republicans actually want to pass trade deals, they want to pass tax reform.

They want to do other things -- especially in the election, the Keystone pipeline took up a huge amount of oxygen. It's one infrastructure project, it's 35,000 jobs, sure, that's all good. But now that it's been vetoed, I think move on to a governing agenda. Stop just this with one piece of legislation over and over again. But my guess is they'll continue to do it.

AVLON: Amen.

CAMEROTA: All right. Margaret, John, great to see you guys, even if only by satellite. Thanks so much for being here. All right. Well, the NTSB is trying to figure out how and why the

driver of a pickup truck drove on to railroad tracks, causing that train crash and derailment in California. That driver now facing criminal charges. The latest on the investigation, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Some new developments overnight after that horrific crash involving a Metrolink train and a pickup truck in southern California. The driver of that truck has been arrested.

Dan Simon joins us now live near the scene northwest of L.A. in Oxnard, California -- Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela.

The facts of what happen here are simple. Here you have a guy who made a wrong turn, got stuck on those train tracks. The train conductor pulled the emergency brake, but couldn't stop in time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a very violent crash.

SIMON (voice-over): An arrest in the collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a produce truck. Fifty-four-year-old truck driver Jose Alejandro Sanchez Ramirez under arrest in a felony hit-and-run charge after allegedly abandoning the scene of the crash. Police say he was found disoriented, walking a mile from the scene, after he told authorities that he mistakenly turned his truck on to the tracks instead of on to a highway.

Ramirez's wife defending her husband, telling the "L.A. Times" that her husband's truck stalled on the tracks. The force of the massive impact toppled and derailed four train cars, at least 30 people were injured. Four in critical condition, including the train engineer.

First responders describing a fiery wreck scrambling to get to trapped passengers.

OXNARD POLICE: I'm arriving now. It appears the vehicle is fully engulfed.

OXNARD POLICE: Overturned train cars, as well. We're probably need more ambulances.

SIMON: Witnesses recounting the terrifying moment of impact.

POLO RAMIREZ, WITNESSED CRASH: It got crazy, it picked up the truck and as soon as it hit it, it burst into flames, dragged it. Couldn't believe what I was seeing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went on a 45-degree angle. Lights went out. Stuff starting flying everywhere.

SIMON: Metrolink officials are new passenger cars designed to surviving crashes for saving lives.

ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: Our ultimate goal is to find out what happened and why it happened that's what we're in the business of doing, is finding out what happened so that we can keep things like this from happening again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: And the train engineer was among those who received the worst injuries. Was severe trauma to his heart and lungs.

And, Michaela, it can take up to a half a mile to stop a train. But, apparently, in this case they didn't see the truck far enough ahead of the stop -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Dan Simon, we appreciate it.

We want to turn to Mary Schiavo, former inspector-general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, also an attorney who represents victims of families after airplane disasters.

And I think the important thing to start with Mary, good morning to you, is the technology that's on board this train car. There was some that had been updated since that terrible and deadly Metrolink crash in chats worth in 2012.

What technology was onboard? What safety precautions were there?

MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. DOT: They have two different things on board this train. This is what the NTSB will be focusing on. Something is called collision energy management. That's what in the report literally the force of the crash. The law of physics, it's going to absorb the force and help the train car stay together, not crumple.

There are a lot of different technologies, the Department of Transportation was working on these technologies to help train cars survive and the other one is something called positive train control. Highly controversial right now because all railroads are supposed to have this installed by December 2015. They're lobbying in Congress, some, not this one, they have it installed. Some railroads are lobbying Congress to extend the deadline but that uses GPS and other technologies to help the train itself sense when there's something on the track and help it stop. So, those two technologies brand new, this train had it.

PEREIRA: Well, it looks as though it helped at least prevent deaths, we know that there are some very serious injury, still.

I want to talk about the intersection. This is a troubled intersection, there have been several crashes. But our estimation, six accidents in seven years. In fact, just in June, two people died at that very intersection. I want you to listen to what the mayor of the city of Oxnard told our Jake Tapper. I think we have that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR TIMOTHY FLYNN, OXNARD, CALIFORNIA: Oxnard actually is doing something, Jake, but it's going to cost $30 million to do it. That is a flyover here at the street. But $30 million is daunting for a local community the size of the city of Oxnard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: So the solution as the mayor is saying is elevate the crossings, get them up out of harm's way. But that's not an easy proposition.

SCHIAVO: No, there are 212,000 railroad highway crossings in the United States of America and that's how we differ so much from Japan. I was fortunate to be able to work with Japan rail for a short period of time when I was inspector general, and found there that the bullet train for example doesn't have places where traffic meets the train. They have elevated and exclusive train tracks, that's why they don't have a lot of these problems.

The solution is to get the train and the cars from meeting each other ever. It's a very, very expensive proposition and the federal rail administration of course has to help, but there's not enough money to do that to all of the intersections. And so, it's not going to happen.

PEREIRA: So, is this a multi-pronged issue. You talk about the 212 crossings we have in the United States. That's daunting. That's a big number.

Is it the trains? Is it the intersections? Is it the drivers? Or is it sort of a perfect storm of all of those things?

SCHIAVO: It's a perfect storm of all of them. I've worked many cases where the intersection was bad, where the drivers couldn't see around a corner or there was vegetation or there was things blocking their view.

But then there's the course the issue of the train whistle, some municipalities have quiet zones where the train can't blow the whistle. The train whistle is there to save your life.

And there are times when the gates and the bells and the warnings just don't work. And of course, the number one cause is drivers going around the arms or ignoring the warnings. So, it's a combination of all of the factors.

PEREIRA: We now know, speaking of the driver, the driver in this incident, in this recent Metrolink accident, is now under arrest on suspicion of felony hit-and-run. Does that change the investigation at all?

SCHIAVO: Well, not from the NTSB's perspective. From the NTSB's perspective, they're going to look at all the factors. What was unique about the driver or the intersection, and how did the train help save lives. But for law enforcement purposes, yes. I mean, they're going to be focused on the driver. And, you know, the

one mystery is why was he so disoriented? How could you mistake train tracks for a highway? That's going to be one of their focuses. If for some reason he had a medical condition, that might go away to explaining or excusing his mistake.

PEREIRA: Mary Schiavo, got to focus on the fact that no one died. We know there are seriously injured people. But this is somewhat of a silver lining. We know the people will have a long recovery ahead of them. Thanks for walking through this with us. We appreciate it as always.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

PEREIRA: All right. A lot of news to get to this morning. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just looking for help for my son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I killed men today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We the jury find the death Eddie Ray Routh guilty.

CAMEROTA: Two days away from the possible partial shutdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let the Department of Homeland Security do its job.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: The burden is on the Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of us are very concerned right now about the security of America.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What we need is a clear agreement from the international community and the Iranians.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The policy is Iran will not get a nuclear weapon.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY.

We have some breaking news overnight to tell you about. There's been a guilty verdict in the "American Sniper" murder trial. Eddie Ray Routh, the Iraq war vet who shot and killed former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

CUOMO: Jury was ten women and two men, they took just over two hours to reach a guilty verdict. Jurors clearly not the buying the defense that Routh was insane when he pulled the trigger. This morning for the first time, we're hearing the real-life drama that unfolded in the courtroom.

We'll get the latest on that from CNN's Martin Savidge live in Stephenville, Texas.

We couldn't -- the judge wouldn't let us hear and observe during the trial. But now, it's all out there and it tells us a lot, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does indeed. Good morning to you, Chris. I noted the time last night, 6:36 local, 7:36 p.m. when the case went into the hands of the jury. Outside of the courthouse here, there is an intensity that told you, you know what, this isn't going to take long. And sure enough, it did not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDY LITTLEFIELD, MOTHER OF CHAD LITTLEFIELD: We've waited two hours for God to -- to get justice for us on behalf of our son.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Breaking overnight, the "American Sniper" trial captivating a nation, is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We, the jury, find the defendant Eddie Ray Routh guilty.

SAVIDGE: Deliberating for less than three hours, the jury found 27- year-old Eddie Ray Routh guilty of killing former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, and his friend, Chad Littlefield. A former marine seemingly showing no reaction, as the judge sentenced him to a life behind bars without parole.

TIM MOORE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He thought he had to take their lives because he was in danger.

SAVIDGE: Jurors rejecting defense arguments that Routh diagnosed with PTSD, was legally insane.

EDDIE RAY ROUTH: I've been so paranoid schizophrenic all day, I don't even know what to think of the world right now.

SAVIDGE: The 27-year-old shown here in 2013 moments after police arrested him for shooting Kyle and Littlefield multiple times at a gun range.

Later, Routh told police that he believed his victims were pig-human hybrids.

ROUTH: They're pigs. I've been smelling it this whole time.

SAVIDGE: In an unusual circumstance, the judge barred audio from the trial until the verdict was reached.

JODI ROUTH, MOTHER OF CONVICTED KILLER: He was very suicidal. SAVIDGE: Routh's mother, Jodi, who claims Eddie once threatened to

kill himself and their family, retold what she did the moment she heard her son killed Kyle.

JODI ROUTH: I had Chris's number in my phone and I dialed that number, praying to god that he would answer.

SAVIDGE: Taya Kyle, the wife of the former sniper, was overcome with emotion on the stand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take a moment if you need to.

SAVIDGE: Recalling the last time she saw her husband.

TAYA KYLE, WIFE OF CHRIS KYLE: Just that we loved each other and gave a kiss and a hug like we always did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: You know, I was in the courtroom when Taya Kyle gave that testimony, extremely powerful. The jury was deeply moved.

Should point out that Taya Kyle was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read. She had stormed out during closing arguments. She had been made so angry as a result of things that the defense said regarding the death of her husband, Chris.