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Jihadi John Identified; CPAC Party Time for Conservatives; Interview with Rear Admiral John Kirby

Aired February 26, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Reports this morning that Jihadi John, the masked executioner with the British accent in several of those ISIS beheading videos, he's been identified.

Let's get right to CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for the breaking details.

What do we know, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

The Reuters news agency quoting the BBC and the "Washington Post" now identifying this man as Mohammed Emwazi, Kuwaiti born, in his mid-20s, the face of brutality the world came to know with the execution video of James Foley and three subsequent execution videos of three additional Western hostages.

The news reports are that friends and people who knew him are now identifying him. That they say that it is absolutely him in that video. Officially neither the British or U.S. government is confirming anything.

Said to be in his mid-20s. Went to Syria in 2012. Became radicalized over time before and after that and became the face of ISIS brutality.

But let's get to the bottom line. Can the West get to Jihadi John? Unlikely. If he remains in Syria, there are no troops on the ground and to kill someone with an air strike, an individual on the ground at a point in time from the air, very difficult, and the bottom line is, we know now there are so many more people in ISIS, also willing to carry out the same brutal acts.

Back to you guys.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Excellent point, Barbara. Thanks so much for all of that.

Other developing story to follow, the homegrown terror here in New York City. Three Brooklyn men busted for allegedly aiding ISIS. According to federal authorities, two of the suspects plotted to fly to Turkey and cross the border into Syria to join ISIS on the battlefield. A third suspect allegedly organized and financed the scheme. If the plot failed, authorities say the back-up plan was to bomb Coney

Island and to shoot the president.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS hostage numbers rise sharply in Syria and Assyrian human rights group says ISIS is now holding 262 Assyrian hostages. There is growing concern about their faith. Real fears that they could be forced into sex slavery or viciously killed.

All of this unfolding as clashes intensify between Kurdish forces and ISIS in one town where many of those abductions happened.

CUOMO: Net neutrality will get a long awaited vote today. The divisive issue is being taken on by the FCC's five-member board. It is expected to approve new rules meant to preserve an open, equal access Internet and prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against content makers. Internet service providers and many Republicans say the plan to regulate it as a utility much like landline phone service is overkill.

PEREIRA: Much more on our breaking news this morning as we continue to get new details about the identity of the man known as Jihadi John. But first, new questions about money raised by the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.

Much ado about nothing? Or a real issue that could dog a 2016 run?

John King will tackle that and more "INSIDE POLITICS."

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PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. I want to get to "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King, who is in D.C. where I understand you're having quite a snow day, my friend.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": It's a beautiful morning, Michaela, here in D.C. and many people here would disagree, some people in D.C. think we're in the south. But there you see the snow falling on the White House.

PEREIRA: Beautiful.

KING: We've got snow behind us on the United States capital. It's about a couple of inches out there so far. Schools have been delayed, some schools are closed. But the federal government employees can stay home, I guess, and telecommute if they want.

Let's hope the Congress, though, comes in because we have that funding deadline. Remember at the end of the week, for the Department of Homeland Security.

So shovel your sidewalk, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate and Congress, and get your you-know-what to work today. We'll get to that issue in a minute.

With me this morning to share their reporting and their insights, Lisa Lerer of "Bloomberg Politics", Ron Fournier of the "National Journal." Let's start with CPAC. The big conservative gathering is here this

year. A little bit more important than normal because we've had this early and aggressive maneuvering among all the Republicans, thinking about running for president.

Look at some of the speakers today. It's a who's who of Republican president candidates in 2016. Dr. Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Jeb Bush -- I almost said George W. Bush -- Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, among others, too. And I'm sure I'm leaving a few out, I don't mean to do that.

Scott Walker has the boomlet of momentum at the moment. We've seen polls in Iowa. There's a Texas poll that shows him tied in the state of Texas with Ted Cruz. Out this week, Cruz, 20 percent, Walker 19 percent. His state legislature is doing something Democrats won't like but conservatives will, passing a right to work law, limiting the rights of labor unions.

Will Scott Walker -- here's my big question. Will Scott Walker come under attack? Will other Republicans decide even though it's so early to go after Scott Walker this weekend?

LISA LERER, BLOOMBERG POLITICS: Well, that is the big question of the day, right? Do they decide to elevate his profile in a way by attacking him or just let him continue what seems to be a bit of a rise. I think a lot of campaigns right now are making the calculation whether it's better to let him continue or try to cut him off and risk the possibility of getting him more attention.

RON FOURNIER, NATIONAL JOURNAL: Yes, he's -- you know, he's got a bullet now in part because of the fact that the media has come after him, that we've been holding him accountable, and that really is a good thing to happen when you're a base Republican. The question is -- they've got to worry about, if they come after him, if Jeb Bush, for example, comes after him. That's just going to make Walker looking bigger and even stronger.

So my guess is they hold their fire. They hope that this is going to be like last cycle where candidates come up and down, and Walker will come down to earth. We're still, you know, nearly a year out from the election.

LERER: And they also hope that Walker does damage to himself. You know, this is a far brighter, far harsher spotlight than he's used to. We've seen evidence of that previously when he sort of gone to a little bit of mess, talking about the president's Christianity. So I think a lot of campaigns are hoping that he does it for them.

FOURNIER: My guess is they don't.

KING: They don't. They don't. We'll see how that -- for example, remember, we have a crowded Republican field. We've got a pretty good competition right now. Yes, it's early. The first voting about a year away in Iowa. The first debate six months away, I think, in the fall. Another guy at CPAC who's got something to prove, I think, especially

if you look at the recent polls, you look at the fundraising advantage. Jeb Bush is ahead, getting out early, there's Chris Christie. Chris Christie doing a lot of his trademark town halls in New Jersey yesterday. We've seen polling in New Jersey. A lot of people, A, number one, Hillary Clinton would beat him in the state of New Jersey if the elections were held today.

And a lot of people in New Jersey said, really, you're going to be our governor and run for president? Chris Christie says, don't worry about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: And just because I'm going to need a job after this, because I can't do this anymore, I'm constitutionally prohibited, eight years and I'm done. So I need a job after this. Just because I may have to consider what that next job is going to be, doesn't mean I'm not on the job doing the job I need to do every day here. I can walk and chew gum at the same time, so can you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: He can walk and chew gum at the same time.

LERER: I think some people in New Jersey don't think so because his approval ratings in the state has been dropping pretty sharply.

You know, he needs to articulate why he's doing this. He's had a really rough couple of months, he tried to make this argument about fiscal responsibility and the pensions, state court said, that wasn't quite, in a way, they sort of disavowed what he did on pensions, so I think he really needs to articulate an argument for why he wants to run for president and also restore some confidence among donors that he can do it.

FOURNIER: He's talking to people who their next job might be another minimum wage job. He's talking about running for the presidency. If he's not careful, he's going to hurt himself both ways. He's going to -- not win the presidency or even get close to nomination and undermine himself in New Jersey.

KING: Interesting to watch in the next couple of weeks and months whether Chris Christie actually takes the official plunge. He's exploring, he's building a staff, but a lot of people are skeptical that maybe in the end he decides not to do it.

This one is for the -- under the banner of "No, pigs don't fly." Donald Trump tells the "Washington Post" -- and Donald Trump will also be speaking at CPAC. That he's serious this time. Unlike the last three presidential cycles, where he said he was thinking about running and we all knew it was a joke.

He says it's not fun, I'm -- not doing this for enjoyment. I'm doing this because the country is in serious trouble. FOURNIER: The country may be in serious trouble. He may be more

serious about running. He's not a serious man.

KING: I think -- I think I agree. You want -- you want in on that one?

LERER: It's hard to greet that news with anything but a big yawn, I think.

FOURNIER: Right. It's such a --

LERER: Yes.

KING: Yes. Well, the guy's good at self-promotion and brand promotion and -- see you in Iowa, buddy, would love that. Would love that.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: New questions this morning about the Clinton Foundation. We've talked about the story for a couple of days now into last week. We've learned that after she left the State Department, Secretary Clinton, they started taking international money again. Money from foreign governments at the Clinton Foundation. The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation now.

The "Washington Post" reporting this morning that there have been some exceptions that while she was secretary of state, they took some money because of the contract agreements. They did that. And there was one donation that violated the agreement that President Obama forced on the Clintons. That was $500,000 from the government of Algeria.

A statement out from the foundation says yes, they did that. They admit that they violated the terms of the agreement. But they said it was an oversight because Algeria wanted to give $500,000 to the efforts -- the good, the admirable efforts of the Clinton Foundation in Haiti.

LERER: I mean, look, I was just in Silicon Valley this week seeing Secretary Clinton give what really is a preview of many of her campaign themes, and a big focus of that speech was the rights of women and women's achievements, and promoting women, and promoting everybody. And it's hard to see how taking money from these countries that are not exactly known for their record on women's rights doesn't undermine that message. And that's just one of the many problems with this question.

FOURNIER: I wrote a couple of week ago that this was ethically sleazy and politically stupid. I stand by those words and actually what we've seen since then, I think I'll double down on them. Again, this proves that the Clintons' biggest blind spot for all the things they -- you know, admirable things about them, the biggest blind spot is they actually think that the ends justify the means.

KING: Right. And --

FOURNIER: They don't.

KING: And again what the foundation is doing and still does in Haiti is admirable work. But the very time they're taking this money from Algeria, Algeria was lobbying the State Department because of its human rights issues for better relations in Washington. As you point, looks bad. Even if nothing bad happened, looks bad. They should have known better.

FOURNIER: Something bad did happen, it -- what they did is bad, this should not happen.

KING: Right. Thanks for coming on this morning.

Mr. Cuomo, as we get back to you in New York, that's an interesting thing to watch and we didn't get much time to talk about this morning but we'll also keep an eye, the president yesterday making clear in Miami that he thinks he's right on this whole DHS shutdown thing. And he thinks he's got the pressure on the Republicans. The clock is ticking. We'll see what happens by this time tomorrow.

CUOMO: People have a lot of questions for him.

You know who else they may have a lot of questions for, John King? You. You out there.

You want a piece of John King? Question him about the 2016 race or how he gets the almost-impossible swoop in his hair? I know the answer to that, FYI.

Well, this is your chance today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. John King hosting a live Facebook chat. Answering your questions about this week's CPAC or the GOP's 2016 presidential hopefuls, about the DH thing. Just go to Facebook.com/CNNpolitics. 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Come ready and come with it.

John, see you then.

KING: I might take it out in the snow.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: All right. So this big new discovery in the terror fight. The man known as Jihadi John from those terrible ISIS videos, he has a name.

Coming up, how his background changed the global war on terror or not.

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CAMEROTA: We do have breaking news this morning. There are reports that the man known as Jihadi John, he is the man with the British accent in the beheading videos, that he has been identified.

Let's bring in Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby. He joins us this morning. Admiral Kirby, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY. Here's what we

have learned from Reuters. They cite the BBC and the "Washington Post." They say that Jihadi John's real name is Mohammed Emwazi. He is Kuwaiti born but raised and educated in London.

What more do we know?

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Well. here at the Pentagon I'm afraid we're not able to confirm that identity. We've seen those reports as well, just like you have. This is really a matter for our colleagues in the United Kingdom to speak to. We just -- we can't confirm that identity.

What I will tell you, though, is that this does get to a larger issue of foreign fighters. And you've reported this very, very well. Thousands and thousands of radicalized young men, in particular, are joining this fight, and that's what makes this threat of ISIL so significant.

CAMEROTA: You stated the Pentagon cannot confirm his identity, however, there are reports that even back in September the FBI said that it had learned Jihadi John's identity but was not revealing it to the public.

Does the FBI believe that this is Emwazi?

KIRBY: Well, I would point you to the FBI for that. I -- what I can tell you is we're not able to confirm his identity at this time. And as you may understand, there's literally ongoing investigations into the murders of the American hostages that ISIL executed. So, again, we just wouldn't want to get ahead of that.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, that's the reason that this could be so significant because he is that mysterious figure. Well, whoever it is. The American public has been trying to figure out who that mysterious figure is shrouded in black.

KIRBY: Sure.

CAMEROTA: You only see his eyes. But he has -- he speaks English. He has a British accent.

KIRBY: Right.

CAMEROTA: And, I mean, it seems as though if we were to be able to figure out his identity definitively that that would be a major piece of the puzzle.

KIRBY: I think everybody would like to know who this individual is, of course. Certainly to assist in the investigative efforts. There's no doubt about that, but at the Pentagon here militarily we're focused more on a broader fight against ISIL from the air and of course getting our Iraqi security force partners on the ground ready to continue to retake territory from ISIL. I mean, our focus is really more on a military perspective here. CAMEROTA: OK. We want to ask you from a military perspective about

what's happening with the 262 Assyrian Christians who have been taken hostage.

KIRBY: Right.

CAMEROTA: By ISIS. We've been told that they're mostly women, and children, and the elderly. How is the coalition going about trying to find these people?

KIRBY: Well, it's very troubling. There's no question about that. We've seen these reports. I have no reason to doubt their authenticity. This is sadly typical for a group like this with their barbarous ways.

All I can tell you is we're focused on ISIL all throughout the region, Iraq and in Syria. We're trying to do what we can to degrade their capabilities, to minimize their influence and minimize their ability to do this kind of thing, to capture so many individuals and then put them in harm's way which no doubt these people are.

And of course, like the rest of the United States government here at the Pentagon, you know, we condemn this act. We condemn this kind of brutality.

CAMEROTA: Can you confirm for us, Admiral, if in fact the coalition has now today launched airstrikes in that region where these Christians were taken hostage?

KIRBY: I'm not able to confirm that here as we speak, Alisyn. What I can tell you is that we continue to put pressure on this group from the air, both Iraq and in Syria. And that's not going to stop. I mean, we know the airstrikes more than 2400, 2500 now have been very, very effective. They're going to continue. Where we can hit them and where it matters.

Now one thing I will say is we're always mindful to try to not cause collateral damage or civilian casualties. So what I will tell you is that as we put pressure on them from the air we're going to continue to be just as precise as we can be.

CAMEROTA: Well, exactly. I mean, I can only imagine how difficult it is to launch airstrikes when there are 262 innocent Christians being held somewhere.

KIRBY: Right.

CAMEROTA: And the coalition doesn't know where they're being held.

KIRBY: Well, again, I wouldn't get into specific intelligence matters but -- about where they may be, but what I can tell you is that we're going to be very mindful, as we have been as we go against ISIL from the air not to try to cause any collateral damage or civilian casualties. And when you have a group this big now, that's assuming that they're all still altogether, we don't know that. They could be split up. But we're always going to be mindful of civilians in any kind of airstrike that we take.

CAMEROTA: Admiral, can you confirm for us that there are airstrikes underway around the town of al-Baghdadi? And that town is significant because U.S. forces are stationed at an airbase near there.

KIRBY: Well -- you're right, al-Baghdadi is close to al-Assad Air Base. We talked about that when there was a -- an interrupted potential attack against the perimeter at al-Assad. What I can tell you is the Iraqi Security Forces are on the move in al-Baghdadi. They're making good progress. They launched an operation a couple of days ago to retake that town. And by all accounts what we're getting this morning is that their operations have been successfully prosecuted.

Now they still got a lot of work to do. They're still -- they're still there. It's not -- it's not mission complete right now, but what we're getting here at the Pentagon is that they're making good progress in taking ISIL out of that town. They've killed more than 100 of their fighters. And I think they're making good progress.

CAMEROTA: Admiral Kirby, on a last note we understand this may be one of your last appearances on NEW DAY, that you are moving on from the Pentagon spokesperson?

KIRBY: That's right. I've got a little bit of time here left in the job and it's been a great privilege, a great honor. I've enjoyed every single day of it.

CAMEROTA: Well, we've sure appreciated all the time that you've made for NEW DAY. But we assume that we'll see you again in the next couple of weeks before you head out.

Thanks so much.

KIRBY: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Let's go --

CUOMO: Kirby couldn't take the heat. I'm surprised he lasted this long.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: No, he's been of great service to the country. And he's always been very good to us on NEW DAY. We wish him well going forward.

After the break we're going to have much more on that breaking news. The ISIS executioner called Jihadi John has been revealed.

Did he get away while under surveillance? The answer ahead.

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